The Hardest Choices
by Maaike-OUAT
Summary: Set right after the ending of 2x12. Rumplestilstkin has demanded Emma to come with him to find his son, but Emma can't, and will not leave Henry again. What will she do? The fic initially starts building on the original storyline, but takes on a different direction in an early stage, touching on some original events along the way. CharmingFamily, SwanThief. RumBelle added later
1. Chapter 1

**There's a 3 week hiatus. This means that I'm showing withdrawal symptons, which means time for a new story!**

**Set right after the ending of 2x12. Rumplestilstkin has demanded Emma to come with him to find his son, but Emma can't and will not leave Henry again. What will she do?**

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

There's a loud knock on the door of the apartment.

Emma, Henry, Charming and Snow all look up in surprise from their position in the kitchen.

With a questioning gaze, Emma walks towards the door to open it. She isn't even halfway when the door swings wide-open and a tense-looking Rumplestiltskin is entering the loft. ''Gold,'' she sighs. ''We all had a long night.''

'''Do you remember that favor you owe me Miss Swan? I'm cashing it in.''

Worried, Charming walks towards his daughter.

''It's not a good…'' says Emma.

Rumplestiltskin points a finger at her. ''You do honor your agreements don't you?''

Henry has joined Emma and Charming as well.

''I need to find someone, so we're leaving today. Pack a back.''

''Leaving?!'' asks Snow in bewilderment.

''Where?'' inquires Henry with a little tremor in his voice.

''Find someone? Who?'' continues Emma.

''My son. It has to be today, because every minute I'm here, is a minute closer to me killing Hook. So it's best for everyone that I leave.'' He points his finger again to Emma. ''And _you_, are coming with me.'' He then looks at the others. ''We've a long history. Know this, and know it to be true. If any harm comes to Belle when I'm gone, I'm killing all of you.'' When he's stating the last part of that sentence, he explicitly looks at Henry. His attention shifts to Emma again. ''I'll see you at noon.'' He turns around and leaves the apartment.

Emma holds Henry protectively.

Charming places a reassuring hand on his daughter's back.

''You can't go! You can't leave me again!'' Cries Henry. Terror is clearly reflected in his eyes.

Emma kneels down to come to an equal level with her son. Her hands enfold his arms. ''Henry listen to me, I'm not leaving you, not again.'' Her voice is soft, soothing. ''Mr Gold can ask whatever he wants from me, but he can't ask me to leave you.''

''But he'll kill us!'' the boy's voice modulates to a higher tone.

''No he won't.'' Charming kneels down next to his daughter to face his grandson. ''You know why? Because he first will have to come through us. And we're strong, as a family. We will stop him.''

Snow is still standing in front of the door. A desperate expression covers her face.

Both Charming and Emma see it.

Henry is standing with his back turned to his grandmother and doesn't notice. ''You promise you won't go?'' he asks Emma.

''I promise. Get dressed now, you need to get ready for school.''

''Ok.'' The boy casts a last worrying look at his mother before he runs up the stairs.

''Emma…'' starts Snow softly.

''Yeah?''

''You know we can't go up against Rumplestiltksin,'' her mother tries.

''I know, but what the hell do you expect me to do? To just drop everything here and leave, without Henry? That is _so_ not going to happen, not in a thousand years.''

Tears well up in Snow's eyes. Why does this always have to happen? Is there than no way that they all can be together, live 'happily ever after?' Why is it that always when they find each other, something happens that rips them apart again?

Charming gently rubs his wife's back and presses a soft kiss against her temple. He knows exactly what is going through her head right now. He knows it, because he thinks precisely the same. But he knows that he has to stay strong for his wife and for his daughter. He can't afford to have a breakdown right now.

Frustration is reflected in Emma's eyes. She throws her hands up in the air. ''I don't know what to do! Can't we come up with some kind of magical plan or something?''

''There is no time Emma,'' replies Charming. ''Gold asked you to leave in a few hours, that is not nearly enough time to come up with a plan.''

''Than there is no other way.'' Emma suddenly looks determined. Her eyes go from her father to her mother. ''Whether _Rumplestiltksin _likes it or not, Henry comes with me.''

''Are you sure?'' asks Charming questioningly.

''Yeah, I guess I've never been more sure of anything in my life than this,'' answers Emma. ''If there's nothing that we can do, I see this as the only solution. There is just no way I will leave him again.''

Snow and Charming understand completely. Being without your child is unbearable and with what they all have experienced it's even more difficult to be away. On the other hand, they also understand that this means that Emma and Henry both will be away, God might know for how long.

Emma sighs. ''I'll go tell Henry and pack our bags.'' She turns around and walks up the stairs.

She leaves Charming and Snow in uncertainty.

''Can't we go with them?'' asks Snow almost begging.

Charming grabs both of her hands. ''We need to stay here Snow. When Emma and Rumplestiltskin are away we have to find Cora and stop her. We also need to keep an eye on Hook and protect Belle.''

''Can't someone else do all of that?'' It's her desperation that has taken the upper hand. But a little voice in the back of her mind tells her that there is no other way, that she must accept it.

Charming pulls her closer. He let his fingers run up and down her arms. ''We've to keep faith. That's what I had when you and Emma were away and that worked out didn't?''

''You found me…'' says Snow softly. She drowns into Charming's eyes.

''No, you found me remember?'' grins Charming.

A little sparkle lights up in Snow's eyes. ''We've found each other.''

Their heads come closer to each other. Charming gently brushes a strand of hair away from her face.

Tears finally run over Snow's face. All the pain, frustration and grief that has been piling up for years, finally find their way out. She always managed to stay strong, to stand above it all, but the idea of her daughter and grandson leaving them again - even though it might only be for a little while - reflects all the similar events that have happened over the years. She starts to shiver and in between her sobs she manages: ''Not again Charming, not again!''

''It's ok, I'm here, you can let it out.'' Gently he takes her into his strong arms and holds her until the sobbing and shivering stops. He kisses the tears away that have found their way down to her chin.

This movement puts some sort of spell on Snow. Her body freezes and she closes her eyes.

His mouth find its way down to hers. He presses a gentle kiss on her soft lips and waits for her permission to go further.

Slowly, Snow opens her mouth and allows Charming to deepen the kiss.

They're both captured in the moment. Their relationship is so strong and pure that speaking is unrequired. Without saying a single word, they know what the other feels. This kiss is not out of passion, but out of love, true love.

Suddenly the two are ripped out of the moment by a loud bang coming from up the stairs. Merely a second later, a suitcase comes tumbling down until it comes to a hold on the third step.

''Henry!'' cries Emma to her son.

''Sorry!'' answers Henry. ''It just slipped right out of my hands.''

Charming uses the palm of his hand to stroke the remaining tears from his wife's face. He shows her a sweet smile. ''It's going to be all right.''

Mother and son come stamping down the stairs, both with a backpack, and Emma with her suitcase.

Charming quickly gets Henry's suitcase from the third step to unblock the way for his daughter and grandson.

Emma sees in her mother's eyes that she's hurt, but she decides to not go into it right now, for Henry's sake.

''Got everything?'' asks Snow to Henry.

''Yep, I guess.''

''No you haven't, says his grandfather secretive. He opens a closet and takes out a small stack of comic books which he gives to Henry.

''Wow, Captain America, that's so cool!'' he cries out when he looks at the covers.

''For the road. I thought you might like it. I wanted to give it to you for your birthday coming up, but I believe this is a better moment for you to have it.''

''Thanks gramps, I love it!'' cries Henry again as he gives his grandfather a big hug.

''It's also from Snow,'' says Charming, knowing that a hug from her grandson will brighten her mood a bit.

Snow thankfully smiles at her husband.

''Thanks grams!'' Henry immediately runs over to his grandmother to also give her a tender hug.

Snow finds it hard to let him go. ''You're more than welcome sweety,'' she says as she keeps on holding onto him.

''Snow, give the boy some air,'' Charming grins as he looks at the affectionate sight.

Snow lets go.

''Thanks David and Mary for the comic books,'' says Emma as she manages a smile. She's nervous about her and Henry going with Mr Gold. The man didn't even tell them where it was they were going and how they were supposed to find his son. She would be okay if she was by herself, but taking Henry with her brings the word 'worry' to a whole new level. ''We still have a few hours, what do you want to do?'' she asks Henry.

''Shall I make you something to eat for the road?'' asks Snow, seeking for distraction.

''That would be nice, thanks.'' Emma has never been an excellent chef and doesn't really trust her own cooking skills.

''Shouldn't you go get some sleep?'' asks Charming to Emma. ''You haven't slept the whole night and will be out and about soon.''

''Even if I wanted to, I don't think I can David, but thanks for your concern.''

Snow is kind of relieved with the answer. This way she can spend a little more time with her daughter.

''Can't we just sit together and watch a movie or something?'' asks Henry. He's nervous about the trip with Mr Gold as well, but there is also that sense of adventure that has always been his main driver.

''Let's do that,'' agrees Emma.

After a short look in the limited DVD collection – with DVDs mostly from Emma – they decide to watch a comedy, which is the only genre they all can handle right now.

Of course there is no-one who can really focus on the movie, with all that is going on. But Henry has snuggled in between his grandparents and halfway the movie, his eyes fall closed as his head leans on his grandfather's arm. He couldn't sleep at all last night since he was all by himself with no idea when his mother and grandparents would be back.

Emma decides this is the right moment to discuss everything with her parents. ''So while we're gone you take care of all the sheriff business around town?'' She asks her father.

''Yes, don't worry about that. I've enough help from our friends and finding Cora is priority number one at the moment.''

''Good. Mary Margaret, can I ask you to keep an eye on Belle? Make sure that nothing happens to her?'' Without waiting for a response, her attention shifts back to her father. ''And I want constant surveillance in Hook's room, 24/7. Make sure he doesn't leave his hospital room, _ever. _I'll deal with him when I get back.''

''Let us worry about these cases Emma, you worry about the task that you have to fulfill,'' Charming says.

''And Emma,'' Snow suddenly grasps her daughter's hands, ''be careful okay?'' her eyes are full of concern.

''I won't do anything that you wouldn't do,'' Emma says with a grin, knowing that Snow has done several things that don't belong to the category 'careful.'

''Emma, I'm serious! I don't want you or Henry to get hurt.''

''I know, and we will, be careful I mean.''

The door swings open, just like hours ago, and Rumplestiltskin enters the apartment once again. ''So, are you ready?'' he asks Emma.

''Yes, _we _are ready,'' replies Emma with extra emphasis on the word _we. _

''What do you mean, _we_?!''

''Henry is coming with us.''

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Ok, what do you guys think? Is it worthy to write another chapter or shall I leave it with a one-shot? Hope to receive your feedback! Thanks so much!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the review, follows and fav's. I appreciate it so much! I hope you'll also like the next chapter.**

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

''So where will we go?'' asks Emma to Mr Gold as they're walking to his car.

Henry doesn't leave his mother's side. Getting into a car with Rumplestilksin himself, is quite scary.

Emma shoves the suitcases of her and her son in the trunk of Gold's Caddy. ''Hey, I asked you a question. Where will we be going?'' she asks again, impatient this time.

''Miss Swan, every deal I make is under my conditions. One of the conditions for this deal in specific is that I share as much information with you as I wish, which does not include telling the destination of this trip. That I allowed to take Henry with you, is one of the few exceptions I've made in my life.''

''I'm impressed,'' says Emma sarcastically. ''You just knew that if you didn't allow me to take Henry with me, that I wouldn't have come at all.''

They all get in the car. Emma and Henry sit in the back, as far away as possible from Mr Gold.

''We should not turn things around here Emma. You knew the consequences, I've laid it all out for you. You didn't have a choice. It's as simple as that.''

Emma's expression hardens. She holds Henry's hand as she doesn't want to break contact between them.

They pass Granny's diner.

Red is just cleaning some tables that are outside as she sees the car coming. The bizarre composition of occupants of the vehicle inevitably raises questions.

Emma casts a look at her friend that says: ''I didn't choose to be in this car with this man at all, but I don't have a choice.''

Henry slowly raises a hand.

The next location they pass is Regina's house.

In Henry's eyes, regret and pain is clearly visible as he thinks about how they falsely accused his adoptive mother of the murder of Archie.

Emma sees that her son has a hard time and she gives a comforting squeeze in his hand.

Not long after, shops and houses make place for trees and dark forest roads. It will not be long before they pass the town line, knows Emma. She sighs deeply as they pass the sign ''Leaving Storybrooke.'' She knows that she and Henry are fine, but the idea that they actually leave the village where she had found her long-awaited family scares her a bit. ''But wait a minute. How the hell are YOU able to leave Storybrooke without losing your memory?'' she asks Mr Gold.

''No questions, remember?'' Is his short reply. His eyes stay on the road ahead of them.

How talkative Henry is most of the time, how quiet he is now. He clearly feels the tension hanging in the air and doesn't lose grip of his mother's hand.

''Did you bring your government issued ID's?'' asks Gold as they're driving for almost an hour. No-one had said I word in the meantime.

''Why?'' asks Emma suspiciously.

''Because we'll have to catch a flight.''

''Are you serious? We have to fly to the destination?''

''That's the idea.''

Shocked, Henry looks to his mother. They're going further away than both of them had expected.

* * *

Snow's answers the door of their apartment.

''Snow, what's that all about? Rumplestiltskin just came driving passed the diner and Emma and Henry were in the car with him?'' Red asks in bewilderment.

''Oh Red,'' sighs Snow,'' please come in.

Red follows her friend to the living room. ''Where's Charming?''

''He's at the hospital, organizing a schedule with the dwarfs. They´ll take turns watching Hook. Would you like something to drink?'' Snow hushes to the kitchen.

Red sees that the other brunette is stressed. ''What about you sit down and I make you a hot cocoa?'' Gently she pushes Snow to the couch in the living room. After a few minutes she comes back with two steaming cups of cocoa, one with cinnamon topping for Snow and one with extra milk for herself. She sits down next to her friend. ''So why don't you tell me what happened?''

Snow's voice tremors as she starts to speak. ''And now I'm afraid that he'll hurt them and I'm unable to do anything. I hate that powerless feeling. It's like experiencing sending her away all over again.'' she ends the story desperately.

Red takes her hands. ''Hey, where is that though girl that I used to know as Snow White? Where's that girl that goes through fire and water for the ones she loves? That isn't afraid for anything or anyone?''

''I think she's gone.''

''Come on! I don't believe that. Do you?''

''I don't know. It's like the Mary Margaret in me has taken the upper hand and all her uncertainties and doubts are taking over.''

''You know, you saying this reminds me of something your husband told us when you and Emma were gone. Something he taught us.''

''And what's that?'' asks Snow, sincerely wondering what it could be Charming had said.

Red smiles as she remembers the speech Charming had given to the town people when they were trying to cross the town line. ''He taught us that our strengths and weaknesses, of both of our identities, is who we are. That we're both, that the town is both.''

''Did he really say all of that?''

''Yes he did, and you know what? He's right. We've to embrace both of our identities, because they both are part of us. We've to learn how to balance it, but we can. You can do that as well, I'm sure of that.''

''Thanks Red. I'm so lucky with having you as my friend.''

''You bet,'' grins the brunette. She gives an encouraging squeeze in Snow's hand.

The beeping sound of an incoming text message disrupts the moment.

Snow quickly takes her phone from the coffee table and opens the text.

''_Mary, he's taking us to an airport, but won't say anything about the destination. Keep you posted. Try not to worry. Love, Emma.''_

''What is it saying?'' asks Red.

''Rumple is taking them to an airport, but doesn't say anything to them about the destination their travelling to. This doesn't feel good Red…''

''They'll be fine Snow. Rumple won't hurt them, because he needs them to find his son. He didn't demanded Emma for nothing to come with him.''

''I guess you're probably right.''

''Shall we go check on Belle, see how she's doing?'' asks Red to distract her friend's mind.

* * *

''Hey Belle, how're you feeling?'' asks Snow as she carefully enters the hospital room.

Red decided to stay a bit behind, not to scare the girl in the hospital bed even more as she has no idea who the brunette is.

''You're the woman who stayed with me when I had the accident!'' establishes Belle as she is relieved to see a familiar face.

''Yes I am. And I brought a friend. Is it okay if she comes in?'' She beckons to Red to allow her to enter as Belle gives an approving nod.

''Hi Belle, my name is Red. How're you feeling?'' She takes a chair which she puts next to Snow and sits down.

''Okay, I guess, given the circumstances. The doctors did an amazing job and the pain is much less now.'' She pauses. ''But who's that man that keeps entering my room? He frightens me.''

Snow and Red look at each other, no idea what they have to tell her.

''Please,'' begs Belle, ''I may not remember, but at least you can tell me who the man is that scares the hell out of me.''

''That man, is… your boyfriend,'' manages Red.

''Red!'' cries Snow.

''No Snow, Belle is right, she earns to know the truth. Maybe something like this will jog her memory.''

''Boyfriend? You're kidding me right? That aggressive, obsessive person is my _boyfriend?!'' _

''Yes he is,'' confirms Snow. ''But don't worry about him, he's gone now and won't be back for a while. And believe it or not, he loves you. He truly loves you.''

''Well he has some strange ways of showing me …'' She looks at the two woman next to her bed if they're crazy. It's like the whole world is crazy and she as the only sane person being stuck right in the middle.

''Can I get you something?'' asks Red to the girl.

''A tea please,'' she answers.

''Let me come with you,'' says Snow to Red. As soon as they leave the room she continues: ''You see? I told you this wasn't a good idea. Now she thinks we're insane.''

''She would have found out sooner or later. And it's better that she hears it from us than from some random person. ''

As they stand at the coffee machine, Grumpy enters the hallway.

''Hey Grumpy, is Charming here too?'' asks Snow as soon as she sees her friend.

''He left an hour ago. Told me he had some things to figure out at the station. What are you girls doing here?''

''We're visiting Belle,'' answers Snow. ''Who's staying with Hook?''

''Happy is taking his shift now. I'll take over in a few.

''Has he gained consciousness yet?'' asks Red, referring to Hook.

''No, Doctor Whale keeps him asleep and will operate on him tomorrow. He said Hook's situation is too unstable right now to be able for him to have surgery.''

The coffee machine makes a beeping sound, indicating that the tea is ready.

''We better get back,'' says Red.

''See you later Grumpy, say 'hi' to Happy from me, will you?'' asks Snow.

''I will Snow. Bye Red.'' The dwarf disappears around the corner.

When they pass the hospital's gift shop, Snow stops. ''Shall we buy a book for Belle? I bet that'll get her mood up.''

'''Great idea,'' agrees Red.

On the recommendation of Red, they decide to go for Bridget Jones, by Helen Fielding.

Once back in the hospital room, Snow gives the book and the tea to Belle. ''It might be boring here, so we thought you might appreciate a book to read?''

''It's a real fun one,'' adds Red.

''Thanks guys, that's real sweet of you.'' Belle takes the book from Snow and starts flipping through the pages. She suddenly puts her nose in the book and sniffs loudly. I remember the smell!'' she cries out as Snow and Red cast funny looks at her. ''I liked books didn't I?!''

''Yes!'' cries Snow, happy with the first baby steps Belle makes into the right direction. ''And you even work in the local library, because you love books so much you can't be without them!''

A wide smile appears also on Red's face.

''That's amazing! Thanks girls for bringing back a piece of my memory.''

''I'm sure the rest will come back too, you just have to give it some time,'' assures Snow.

''I really hope so.''

A nurse comes walking in Belle's room with a new IV bag of fluids. ''Visiting hours are over,'' she surly informs the two visitors. But when she's removing the old IV bag and attaches the new one, she sees who the two women are. ''My apologies, my Queen, you and your friend are obviously more than welcome to stay as long as you want.''

''No it's fine,'' says Snow as she looks at Belle. The girl has difficulties staying awake. ''It's late anyway.''

The two friends get up.

''Can't you stay just a little longer?'' asks Belle. ''I'm glad to finally have some friendly company.''

''We'll be back, I promise,'' answers Snow as she gently squeezes the girl's hand. ''Bye Belle.''

''See you later,'' says Red.

* * *

A soft squeaking sound of the door, tells Snow that her husband is finally home. ''Hey stranger,'' she says smilingly as she turns around from her position on the couch.

''You didn't have to stay up for me,'' says Charming as he walks towards her to give her a kiss. The twinkling in his eyes however gives away that he's glad she did.

''I wanted to,'' admits Snow as she answers his kiss. ''How was the rest of your day?''

''Useless,'' he says as he plumps down on the couch next to his wife. ''There are no traces whatsoever of Cora, or Regina for that matter, to find. Have you heard from Emma and Henry today?''

Snow tells him what Emma texted her that afternoon.

''They're catching a plane? I don't like the sound of that,'' he ponders.

''No me neither,'' says Snow as she gently rubs his back. She lays her head against his shoulders.

They sit for a while like this, staring into the distance.

Snow turns her head slightly to face Charming. ''Belle remembered something,'' she says. ''When Red and I gave her a paperback, she remembered that she loves books.''

''Snow that's amazing! I'm so proud of you!'' He kisses her forehead.

''It's a start.''

''Yes it is. A good start.'' Teasingly, he starts tickling the sensitive spot on her belly.

''Charming… stop!'' Snow manages between her giggles. ''Stop… You know I can't…!''

''Do I hear a 'please'?'' he asks agonizing.

''PLEASE!'' Snow yells out.

''I didn't catch that?''

''PLEASE!'' she cries again. The tickling finally stops and she's out of breath. ''You're so mean!'' she says as she hits his arm.

''Ouch, that hurts,'' grins Charming. ''Do I need to tickle you again?''

'''No, no, sorry!'' Snow laughs.

''Good. Shall we go upstairs then?'' He takes his wife's hand and leads her up the stairs.

When they pass the photo frame with a photo of Emma and Henry on the cabinet, Snow stops to look at it.

Charming turns his head and looks at it too. ''They'll be fine Snow. They'll be fine.''

* * *

**Thanks for reading! What do you think? Please let me know your thoughts, comments and suggestions in a review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm overwhelmed with all your great responses to the story. Thank you so much! **

**************DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

''So is it true what Red told me the other day?''

''What did she tell you?'' asks Charming curiously to his wife.

''That you gave this wonderful speech so that people would stay within the area of the town line?''

''Yeah, now you mention it, I vaguely recall something like that happened…'' smirks Charming as he furrows his forehead, pretending to have to dig deep into his memories.

''Charming!'' grins Snow, ''why didn't you tell me? I love to hear these kind of things.''

''Because I don't like to brag about it.''

''I'm so proud of you.'' She presses a loving kiss against her husband's temple. ''And next time, you have to tell me, so that I can brag about the amazing husband I have to my friends,'' she smiles.

''In that case, I never tell you anything again,'' he teases, ''I don't think I can handle all the attention, especially the female-like-attention that I will draw with performing these heroic actions…''

''Charming, you're officially unbearable.''

''I know, and that's why you love me.''

''Don't be too sure about that!'' she comments kiddingly. ''Maybe I trade you in for someone who isn't so perfect.''

''You wouldn't…'''

''Wait and see Charming. Wait and see!''

The chirping sound of an incoming text message is the reason for Snow to drop the sheets she was changing and to run to her phone, followed closely by Charming.

He positions himself right behind her so that he can read over her shoulders, one hand placed assuring on her lower back.

_Mary, we're in Manhattan, New York. Gold is sure that his son is here. Had some problems at customs at the airport, but Henry and I are fine. Call you tonight. Say hi to David. We both miss you but be back as soon as we can. Xox Emma_

''Rumple's son is in New York?'' asks Charming unbelievably.

''I'm so glad that they're fine and that we're able to speak to them tonight,'' says Snow all excited, worrying more about the emotional aspects of the message than the practical things.

''Yes me too,'' smiles her husband as he gives her an encouraging squeeze in her hand. He glances a look at the watch on his wrist. ''I've to go to the hospital, my shift almost starts,'' he says. He presses an apologizing kiss on Snow's temple.

''I think I'll come with, it has been a few days that I visited Belle.''

''That would be nice,'' says her husband.

* * *

''Happy, how's he doing?'' asks Charming, nodding to Hook who is lying in the hospital bed.

''Dr Whale operated on him last night and apparently it went well. The doctor said he can wake up any minute now. ''

''Okay, thanks Happy for watching him. I really appreciate all of your help.''

''No problem,'' smiles the dwarf as he walks out of the hospital room.

Charming sits down on the same chair as Happy just sat on. He takes a magazine from the pile next to him and starts reading. The minutes are ticking away slowly, even though he has something to read. He sighs. He can imagine better things to do with his time than watching how Captain Hook is knocked out in a hospital bed. But he knows that it is the necessary thing to do. They can't afford the captain to escape and run back to Cora. That would be devastating. A sudden cough rising up from the bed startles the prince. He looks up from the magazine and sees that Hook's eyes are open, disoriented looking around.

He coughs another time. Then, his eyes focus on Charming. ''_Prince Charming'', _rasps the captain mockingly. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company at my bedside?''

''Get that smirk off your face,'' replies the prince. His blood is boiling. ''You know why I'm here.''

''Actually, I don't really. Where's that hot daughter of yours? Don't take it personal, but I really prefer her company over yours.''

''Don't say another word about my daughter.''

''She's a feisty one huh? Now I see where she gets that from.''

This was the proverbial last straw for the prince. He stands up and bends over the hospital bed. He raises his fist and lashes out, aimed directly at the face of the other man. ´´Don´t talk about her like that, EVER, you arrogant, lying bastard!´´ He lashes out once more.

´´CHARMING!´´ Snow runs into the hospital room when she sees her husband leaning over the bed, and she rushes to him.

The prince didn´t even hear his wife come in, as he keeps hitting Hook.

''CHARMING, STOP! STOP!'' she yells as she tries to pull her husband away.

It's only now that the prince realizes that his wife is trying to make him stop. Continuing hitting the captain he says: ''No, I can't Snow, this man hurt you. Hurt our daughter. He deserves this more than anyone.''

''Listen to me! He's not worth it! Please Charming, stop!'' Her small posture isn't strong enough to pull her husband away.

But her words finally have some sort of effect on the prince. His body relaxes and he steps back.

''Ahh sweet words from the missus and mister is as obedient as a dog,'' mocks Hook as he touches his face, measuring the damage.

Charming's fist raises up again.

The captain prepares himself for another hit.

''No, Charming, NO!'' cries Snow, determined this time. ''Shut up!'' she snaps at Hook.

The prince drops his fist.

''Where's Cora?'' Snow asks in a low voice.

''Who?'' smirks the captain.

''Where's Cora?'' she asks again, not going into the question.

''I've no idea who you're talking about.''

''Don't play games Hook, just tell us where she is.'' Snow takes the lead in the conversation while Charming is standing in a corner of the room, still filled with anger.

''Do I know someone named Cora? Well than my head injuries might be worse than I thought,'' he ponders out loud, with a worrying expression on his face. He tries to break loose, moving his arms and legs, but the straps of the bed retain him firmly.

''Oh no, you're not going anywhere,'' says Snow.

The innocent look of the captain turns malicious, giving away that all he's doing is putting up a show for the two royals. ''Where's that imp and his pet?!''

''You mean Rumplestiltskin and Belle?'' asks Snow, this time with the innocent face. ''They're far away. Crossed the border,'' she says lightly, partially telling the truth.

''You're lying.''

''No I'm not,'' she says looking straight into his eyes.

''Ah our visitor is awake I see?'' asks Dr Whale as he enters the room. He walks towards the man in the bed and performs some basic tests. As he sees the angry expression on Charming's face he suggests: ''Why don't you go home? It's fine, I can ask one of the male nurses to watch him.''

''Thanks Whale,'' answers Snow. She takes her husband's hand and leads him outside. ''What was that all about?!'' she asks him when they're outside hearing range of the doctor and captain. ''I've never seen you so mad before. You were out of control!''

''I know. I promise, it won't happened again.''

Snow frowns, waiting for more, but that's all her husband says. She is not completely satisfied with the answer, but decides to leave it for now.

* * *

_Earlier that day at Logan Airport in Boston, Maine._

''Here are your tickets,'' says Gold when he hands two tickets to Emma.

''We're going to New York?!'' she cries as she reads the destination on the tickets.

''Yes we are.''

''Cool!'' says Henry.

''And how 're you planning to find your son in one of the world's biggest cities?'' Emma continues.

''That's where your help comes in. You're going to help me find him there.''

''You're crazy. That's impossible!''

Gold doesn't reply.

The group moves to the check-in desk and checks-in their suitcases. As they only have about 45 minutes before they can board at the gate, they continue to customs. There's a long queue at the passport- and idcard check.

The shop owner gets nervous sees Emma.

When it's finally their turn to show their id-cards, the man behind the desk looks suspicious from Gold back to the picture on the id-card. Then, he types in something on the computer in front of him. It seems like forever before he starts to speak. ''Sir, your details are not registered in this country, at least not that I can see here.'' He looks at his screen again. ''I'm afraid I've to ask you to follow me to the office Sir,'' he says to Gold.

''I won't do such thing!'' says Gold furious.

Emma feels that this is going the wrong way. She suddenly realizes that her sheriff's badge is still in the pocket of her jeans. She steps forward and shows the badge to the man behind the desk. She whispers: ''this man is with me, he's in the protective witness program and I'm flying him to New York where he will get assigned his new identity.'' She looks around as if she's afraid someone heard her.

Three tones, followed by a canned voice sounds through the airport: _''Ladies and Gentlemen, flight 1063, to JFK, New York, operated by United Airlines, is ready for boarding at gate 2.''_

''I see,'' the man says to Emma. ''Can you and Mr Gold please follow me to my office, so that I can perform a final check?''

''Please sir, we're already late and we really have to catch our flight.'' Emma's begging puppy-eyes do the rest.

''Well for this one time I will let you go through, but…''

''Thank you so much!'' interrupts Emma with a big smile. ''I _really_ appreciate your understanding.'' She quickly shows her and Henry's id-cards and pushes her son ahead. As soon as they all are at the gate she turns to Gold. ''So, magically creating an id-card but forgetting about registration?'' she hisses.

''Well I think you handled it all fine miss Swan.''

''If you were prepared better, nothing like this would've happened.''

Henry looks expectantly at Mr Gold's reaction, but there is none.

* * *

Later that evening, Emma and Henry are in their hotel room, which is next to Gold's. The hotel is conveniently located in downtown Manhattan and they're staying at the 38th floor.

Henry loves New York. When they were in the cab from the airport to the hotel, he was astounded by all the high buildings, countless lights and tremendous billboards. His nose was constantly glued to the window and when they passed Times Square his mouth fell open in amazement.

Now, he's looking outside the hotel room's window for almost an hour and constantly points at familiar buildings and sights he sees in the distance. ''Look mom, that's the Empire State Building!'' he cries. ''Oh and there, that's Central Park!''

Emma smiles and joins her son at the window to gaze at the city. ''It's beautiful isn't?''

''Yes it is.''

Emma ruffles his hair. ''Shall we call your grandparents?''

''Yes! Than I can tell them all about it!''

Emma dials Snow's number and gives her phone to Henry.

''_Emma?!'' _

''Grams? It's Henry!''

''_Henry, hi! Oh it's so wonderful to hear your voice! How're you?''_

''We're in New York grams! It's amazing! We're staying at the 38th floor of an hotel and I saw the Empire State Building and Times Square and…'' Henry rattles on.

''_That's sounds amazing Henry!'' _Snow laughs out loud at the other end of the line.

''I wish you and gramps could be here to see it.''

''_Me too Henry, me too.''_

Emma is sitting on the bed looking at her son.

''Would you like to speak to mom as well grams?''

''_Yes please. Speak to you later Henry, I love you.''_

''Love you too grams, bye!'' Henry passes the phone to his mother.

''Mary? Hi, it's me.''

''_Emma, how 're you?''_

''I'm fine. How's everything in Storybrooke?''

''_Hook woke up this afternoon, but refuses to tell where Cora is. We still have no idea.''_

''That annoying son of a…'' Emma looks at Henry. ''Anyway, please tell me that there's some good news as well?''

''_The only good news there is, is that Belle is slowly getting her memories back. Bits and pieces though, but still, it's a start.'' _

''That's great news!'' replies Emma.

''_So tell me, what happened at the airport?''_

* * *

__**Thank you all for reading! Please leave a review with your comments, suggestions etc. I promise I'll take every bit of feedback into account! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! As promised I've taken your reviews into consideration, and SamFanFirst, who suggested that Emma should take Henry on sightseeing, and ''guest'' who wanted to see bonding stuff between Emma and Henry, here you go! I hope you're happy with it, and you other readers as well! Please keep on sending your suggestions and comments :))**

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

''Henry. You, me taking over the city tonight. What do you think?''

Emma's proposal sounds like music to Henry's ears. ''You mean getting out there and explore New York?!''

''Yeah, why not? We're here now, better to make the best of it right?''

''That's so cool! But it's almost 9pm, and what if Mr Gold finds out?''

''Well that means we're being irresponsible for one evening only, and Mr Gold is not going to find out. He's probably already asleep,'' grins Emma.

''Emma, you're the best!'' Henry runs over to Emma and wraps his arms around her.

The blond is quite surprised with the sudden close contact. ''Just benefitting from the opportunity to show my kid something that's outside Storybrooke,'' she smiles as she's returning the embrace.

Henry pulls back and takes his jacket from the chair he casually left it when they arrived.

''Don't forget your scarf,'' says Emma, ''it's cold outside.'' She puts on her own jacket and then the two leave the hotel room. ''Where do you want to go first?'' she asks her son as they're standing outside.

''Can we go see Times Square?'''

''Times Square it is! Taxi!'' she calls out as she beckons a yellow cab. ''Times Square please,'' she says as they've got in.

It's like when they arrived: Henry is constantly looking outside the car window, impressed by everything he sees.

Emma enjoys the view of her son. Him being so happy, so carefree for that one perfect little moment, makes her feel whole.

Merely fifteen minutes later, having struggled through the heavy traffic that the city is known for, they've arrived at their destination.

While Emma's paying the cab driver, Henry already jumped out of the car and is almost literally jumping up and down next to the vehicle. He can't wait to go. ''Emma, hurry up!''

''Yes, yes I'm coming,'' she grins as she takes her son's hand.

There they are, standing in the middle of Times Square, surrounded by all the billboards and neon lightning. Henry runs up the stairs that are part of the TKTS pavilion. ''Now you've to take a picture of me with the billboards in the background,'' he requests.

''I've a better idea. Move over,'' says Emma as she gently pushes Henry a bit to the left. She takes her phone from her jacket pocket and holds it in front of them, so that they both will be in the picture. ''Shoot. I moved my hand,'' she says when she's inspecting the first, blurry, picture. She tries it again. This time it's a clear picture. ''Perfect,'' she smiles. ''Henry, I want to show you something. Two things actually,'' she says mysteriously.

''What is it?''

''Wait and see. Wait and see…''

Henry follows his mother to the other side of the square. He almost bumps into someone while looking up at all the neon advertisements. ''Excuse me,'' he mumbles.

* * *

Emma is enjoying the night out with her son to the fullest. It's the best moment she has had in a long while, maybe even the best moment she has had in her entire life. To see the boy, her son, so happy fills her heart with love. For ten years she didn't think that she would ever see her baby boy again. She remembers the day she gave birth to him like it was yesterday.

It snowed heavily outside she saw through the prison cell window, and she already had contractions for hours during the night. Only once, a guard came into the cell with a glass of water and a wet towel. Only once. Emma smothered the cries of pain in her pillow, afraid that one of the other girls in the cell block would hear her and take it out on her the next morning. In the time that Emma had spent in jail, she had noticed that the other girls were quite… touchy, so to say. Waking them in the middle of the night, for whatever reason, was bad. Very bad.

Once, she saw a new girl being beaten up because the others suspected her of stealing a sandwich from one of the regulars. She had to be taken to the sickbay immediately and almost died of her injuries. That kind of touchy.

So Emma stayed as quiet as possible and went through the suffering in silence. A doctor came to check on her in the morning, when her water broke, and not long after that, she was taken to the prison sickbay. After another three hours of complete misery, the baby was born. Immediately, the nurse took the baby with her to check on him, and Emma didn't lose sight of him for one second. Even though she knew that she agreed on giving him up for adoption, and that the time with him was scarce, she couldn't help the immense feeling of love that was going out to that little miracle that was lying on the bed next to her.

''Congratulations, it's a boy,'' said the doctor who delivered the baby. There was no joy in his voice, nor sadness. It was a blank tone that he produced.

Once the nurse had undertaken all the standard procedures for newborns, she wrapped the baby in a blanket and took him outside.

''Hey, where're you taking him?'' cried Emma anxiously. Although she was in pain, she managed to sit up straight.

The nurse pretended to not have heard the question and left with the baby boy in her arms.

That's when the doctor turned to the blonde. ''She's taking him to his parents,'' he stated as in matter of fact.

''But I want to hold him!'' Frustrated, Emma grasped the sidebars of the hospital bed. ''I've the right to hold him!''

''It's for the best that you don't get too attached to the boy. Holding him would contribute to the bond between you and him, and that makes parting even harder.''

''You can't do this! I wanna see him! I want to hold him!'' Emma's voice sounded louder with each syllable she produced.

''Miss Swan, I suggest you to stay calm. It's not healthy for you to get agitated after the heavy delivery you've experienced. I give you an official warning.''

''I don't care! I want to see him. NOW!'' She was trying to get out of bed, but the pain in her lower stomach was too intense, and she fell back.

''GUARDS!'' yelled the doctor. He picked up a syringe from a container and a bottle of anesthetic. He did that all with the calmness of a trained physician.

In the meantime, two guards had arrived and used restraining ties to tie down the arms and legs of the blonde to the bed.

''NO! NO! LET ME GO!'' Emma screamed. She twisted and turned, but the two guards were too strong for the exhausted new mom. One of them held down her arms and the other professionally applied the ties to her hands and the bed.

The doctor walked over to them and ejected Emma's upper arm with the anesthetic.

''YOU SON OF A B… Let me go… No….'' Emma's voice lowered until only a soft whisper remained. She fought for her life to stay awake, but the anesthetic made her so extremely tired. She couldn't help but to close her eyes. Everything else she saw after that was turned into infinite blackness.

Emma woke up the next morning in her own cell. A plate of food was shoved through the cell door hatch she saw. Her head felt fuzzy and weird and a splitting pain went through her stomach, which reminded her instantaneously about the horrible events that had taken place the day before. ''Noooo…'' she sobbed. ''My baby…'' Tears ran over her face. Her hands moved up to her head and she held it in frustration. ''My baby…'' she repeated. ''My… Henry… Henry.'' She rocked from front to back and tears kept on coming. ''Henry…'' She sat like that for almost an hour. ''Hey!'' she finally cried out. ''Hey!''

One of the guards opened the cell door hatch and looked at her with disinterest. ''Yeah…?''

''My son, his name is Henry. You've to tell that to the adoptive parents. They have to call him Henry.''

''I don't think that that's something you can dec…''

''HIS NAME IS HENRY!''

''Okay, okay, I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise you anything,'' replied the guard, who didn't feel the need to have a verbal fight with a freaked out inmate. Before you know it, things turned ugly here in prison and there was a coffee break in ten minutes.

''Thank you,'' answered Emma in all sincerity, and a sigh of relief escaped her mouth.

* * *

But that was eleven years ago. Everything was different now. And although Emma and Henry spent quite some time together in Storybrooke, Emma didn't feel that she has had enough time to make up for lost times, not to mention that the precious moments with her son often were brutally interrupted by Henry's adoptive mother. ''Well, here we are!'' she says to her son as they've arrived at their new destination.

''Emma these are the largest M&M's that I've ever seen in my life! The boy cries out in wonder and excitement as he sees the large M&M statues outside of the shop.

''Welcome to M&M's World Henry. Let's go inside, shall we?''

Once inside, the boy falls from one amazement in the other. ''Look at all the tubes Emma, they really have every color of the rainbow in M&M's.'' He points at metershigh transparant tubes that hold M&M's in every color you can think of. A tap at the bottom of each tube allows people to get the M&M's out and in a plastic candybag. ''Oh and look at these pajamas and backpacks, with M&M prints all over them. This is great!'' Henry is so distracted, that he doesn't notices Emma sneaking up behind him.

''Boo!'' Emma calls out as she holds a plush red M&M behind Henry's back.

The boy is startled by it and quickly turns around. ''Oh that's so cute, can I have it?''

''But Henry, you're eleven now, aren't you a bit too old for stuffed animals?'' she answers teasingly.

''Not for this one!'' he laughs.

''Fine, than this one's yours. Oh look Henry, there's a M&M in the form of the Statue of Liberty. Shall we take a picture?''

''Yeah!''

Emma walks over to one of the shop assistants and asks if she can take a picture of her and her son.

They both stand in the same position as the statue, with their right arms up in the air, like they're holding a torch. 30 Seconds later, the job is done and the picture is taken.

''Shall we buy something for Mary and David as well?'' asks Emma.

Henry's already ahead of his mother and comes back with a mug. ''This can be gramp's mug for at the sheriff's station, since you already have one,'' he smartly states.

''Perfect,'' his mom agrees. ''So now he never has to steal mine again. And shall we buy this wine bottle filled with M&M'S for Mary? Maybe she leaves a few for us…''

''Great thinking,'' grins the boy. A yawn escapes his mouth.

Emma notices it. ''Shall we go pay for all of this?'' she asks.

They turn to the cash register and let the gifts be wrapped in with a colorful wrapping paper.

''What's next?'' Asks Henry as they're outside.

''I think it's time to head back to the hotel kid. It's almost midnight.''

''But I'm not tired yet!'' Henry lies. ''And you said you wanted to show me _two _things. What is the second thing?''

''I know you're not tired,'' Emma plays along, ''but I really think we should go back.'' A secretive smile appears on her face. ''But not before you've had the chance to see the lights of the city from a spectacular location…''

''What's that, what's that?''

Emma has called a cab. ''To the Empire State Building please.'''

''No, Emma, are we really going inside the Empire State Building?!''

''Not only inside… We're going to the top, because that's where you've the best views of New York.''

Henry is jumping up and down in his seat.

As they step in the elevator that will bring them to the 102nd floor of one of New York's most famous landmarks, Henry takes Emma's hand.

The blonde gently squeezes it. Her face is glowing with pride. ''Yes people, this is my son. He's the best kid on earth,'' she thinks as she's looking around at the faces of the other people who're with them in the elevator. No one really seems to notice it, but Emma doesn't care.

As expected, Henry is full of excitement when they step out of the elevator. He points at every sight he knows and drags Emma up and down the observatory deck.

An hour later, they're back in their hotel room. Emma takes off her jacket and casually throws it on a chair.

Henry does the same. ''That was the most amazing night I've ever had! Thanks mom!''

_Mom_. He said mom to her. Emma freezes and looks at her son. ''You're welcome kid,'' she manages. He called her mom! She never would've thought that this moment would overwhelm her so much. She had constructed the walls around her for over the last 28 years and impenetrability had become her second nature. But Henry's words had such a huge impact on the blonde, that she almost could literally feel the bricks of the walls crumbling down around her. Her eyes turn watery, but she stays strong and doesn't let one tear escape.

After they both have brushed their teeth and put on their pajamas, they settle down in the Queen size bed.

Henry is so extremely tired that as soon as his head hits the pillow, he falls asleep.

Emma moves towards him and presses a gentle kiss on his temple.

Her son is slumbering peacefully and breathes softly.

The blonde casts one last look at him, puts her arms around him and closes her eyes. This was the most perfect night she'd ever had. For sure.

* * *

**Okay guys what do you think? Did you like the bonding stuff between Emma and Henry? And what about the bit of Emma's backstory? What else would you like to see? I'm open to suggestions. PLEASE leave a review :))**

**P.s. It's not that I wanted to advertise for M&M's world, it's just that I visited it in New York a couple of years ago, and last year when I lived in London I visited the shop MULTIPLE times ;) And even though I'm 20years old, I still love it! Can only imagine what it must be like for an eleven-year old who's almost never been out of Storybrooke to visit it. So that's the reason for including it. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for your great support! I was really overwhelmed with your responses to previous chapters. Please keep on sharing your thoughts about the story, because I really want to keep it good, and fresh :) Thanks so much!**

**So, this chapter will focus on the moment that we all are waiting for... I'm only saying: ''Manhattan!'' Have fun reading! :)**

**************DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

A loud knock on the door wakes Emma and Henry from their sleep. Emma looks at the digital clock that is standing on the night stand. 6am… What the hell? She takes a quick glance at her son, but she sees that he's still asleep. Luckily… She grabs a sweater from her suitcase and puts that over her pajamas before she answers the door. Turning the doorknob, and opening the door, reveals Mr Gold standing in front of it.

''Miss Swan, can we meet in front of the hotel in an hour?''

''Are you insane?'' hisses Emma quietly, not to wake Henry. ''It's 6am. What do you want to do at 7am?''

''The reason why we're here. Finding my son.''

''But once again Gold, it's 6am in the freaking morning.''

''Yes, and I say we start searching in an hour. Just make sure to meet me outside.'' He didn't even finish his last word properly before he walked off again.

'That's perfect. Just perfect,' thinks Emma. She walks over to the bed and ruffles Henry's hair. ''Hey kid,'' she whispers, ''you've to get up.''

They have slept both for only a few hours, so Henry is in a deep sleep when his mother is trying to wake him.

''Henry,'' she tries again.

The boy growls a bit in his sleep and hits Emma's arm, before he turns around.

'Good,' thinks Emma, 'another trait he inherited from me. Never wake us while we're sleeping.' She changes her tactic. ''Henry, we're going on an adventure. We've got to find Mr Gold's son…'' she says a bit louder this time.

''What?'' mumles the boy. ''Adventure?''

''Yes that's right Henry, we're going on an adventure. Can you wake up now?''

He opens his eyes.

''Finally! I thought I would never get you to wake up. We've to get ready, we have to be outside in about 45min.''

''What're we going to do?'' asks Henry. Clearly he was still asleep when he answered to Emma's attempts to wake him up.

''We've to find Mr Gold's son.''

''But, like, now?'' he questioningly asks as he's looking at the clock.

''Yes, apparently Gold's determined to start early,'' she answers sarcastically. She picks some clothes for Henry from his suitcase. ''So I'll go and take a shower, you get dressed okay?''

* * *

They're stepping outside the hotel at exactly 7:05am.

''You're late,'' is Mr Gold's remark.

''Only five minutes. What do you care?'' Emma is still quite cranky about the early wake-up call she got from the shop owner, and is not intended to act friendly and polite towards him. So what's the plan?''

''I've a location and I need you to check it out for me. My son might be there. That's the price for our deal.''

''Wait. So you want me to check out a random location, because you believe your son's there? What do you need me for? Why don't you go there by yourself?''

''Because I suspect that my son will not welcome me with open arms when he sees me. He probably will run away. And since I can't walk that fast, it's up to you now.''

The revelation that is reflected in Mr Gold's words, surprises Emma, and triggers her full attention. ''What did you do to your son for him to hate you that much?''

''That's none of your concern. You just have to find him for me and bring him to me. Make up an excuse so that he'll come with you.''

''And when he's at the location you think he is, how do you suppose I know _who_ it is? We're in New York for God's sake, one square meter here is filled with twenty people.'' Emma knows she's exaggerating, but she doesn't care. She wants Gold to feel that she isn't liking the plan. At all.

''Oh believe me, you know.''

''What is that for cryptic bul…'' she realizes just in time that her eleven-year-old son is standing next to her, who's looking up at her, waiting in anticipation for what she's going to say. She swallows the last part of the word. ''How will I know who your son is?''

''Magic,'' Gold simply replies. ''You will know as soon as you see him.''

''And why this early hour? If you already know where he's?''

''That is because the information I have retrieved, is only indicating his whereabouts within a two-hour time span. So that's why I need you to leave. Now. This is the address.'' He hands a piece of paper to Emma.

She takes it from him and looks at it. She has troubles decrypting the sloppy handwriting. ''Is this a 'four'?'' she points at a number in the address.

Mr Gold sighs. ''Yes it is. Can you please hurry up now, you don't have much time. Meet me at that café there on the opposite of the street. And do whatever it takes to bring him here. His name is Baelfire, but I suspect he changed it here in this world. I don't think it's a very common name here. But whatever you do, don't call him that in public. When he knows that you're aware of his real name, he'll definitely make a run for it. Just take it slow.''

''You think I don't know how to handle a situation like this?'' Emma asks offended, without revealing too much. She doesn't want Henry to know about her past as being a bail bondsperson. That career made her quite experienced in creating original excuses and lies. ''Come on Henry, let's go. We'll meet you back here at the café later,'' she says to Gold.

''Good luck,'' he says and walks to the other side of the street.

''Okay, here we go,'' sighs Emma as she takes Henry's hand.

''Do you think we can find him? Baelfire I mean?'' The boy's sense of adventure is triggered once again, and he's quite exciting about all of it.

''Let's hope so. And if not, we're done here. I'm not going to waste any more time searching for this man.''

''But then you break your deal with Mr Gold? You can't do that.''

''Technically Henry, I would not be breaking the deal with him, because I did what he asked. I went to that specific location to look for his son, and that's that. Then I've done my share.''

Henry nods wisely. Like he completely understands.

It takes a few minutes before they can get hold of a cab. Emma gives the piece of paper with the address on it to the cab driver, who looks just as confused as Emma when he reads it. ''Is this a 'four'?'' he asks as well.

''Yes it is.'' A half smile appears on her face. During the ride, her mind is working hard to come up with some excuses to why Baelfire should come with them. She'd learned that it was better to have a Plan B, in case Plan A fails. It's even better actually to also have a Plan C. Just in case.

''Emma, what're you thinking about?'' Henry notices his mother's absentmindedness.

''It's nothing,'' she smiles at him.

''You're already making up excuses to let him come with us, aren't you?''

Wow, this was an unexpected twist in the conversation. ''Kid, it's scary how good you already know me. Are you a seer without telling me about it?'' she asks teasingly.

Henry's eyes turn big. ''That would be awesome!'' he laughs.

''Here we are,'' says the cabdriver. ''164 East 90th Street.''

Emma looks outside the car window. It's a nice area, with decent houses and a lot of trees. ''Thanks,'' she says as she pays the cabdriver. A sudden feeling of warmth flows from her hand up to her arm as she takes the piece of paper with the address back. She flinches lightly.

Luckily Henry hasn't noticed. He has already gotten out of the car and is waiting for his mother to do the same.

''Well, here we are…'' She says as she's looking around. People are walking by fast, trying to get to work on time.

''What now?'' asks Henry.

''I guess we have to wait here. Wait for the ''magical'' thing to happen,'' she adds with a grin. This is going to be a complete waste of time. She's sure of it. But then, a shock is going through her entire body.

This time, it doesn't go by unnoticed. ''Emma! Are you alright?'' Henry asks worried. He grabs her arm as it appears as if she's going to fall down to the ground.

Yes, I think I'm okay,'' she says as she sits down on one of the steps in front of a house. Okay that was weird.

A man in a sweater approaches mother and son. He walks slow, with his hands in his pockets and his head down. The hood of the sweater is pulled over his eyes, so he's unrecognizable for the two.

Now, the hot flash ánd the shock are going through her body at the same time, even more intense than before. As she feels that she almost can't take it no more, the attack stops as suddenly as it came.

''Emma!'' cries Henry.

The pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Magic. ''Henry, that's the man!'' she points at the man in the hoodie. She gets up, grabs her son's hand and takes big steps to get into hearing range of the man in the hoodie. ''Excuse me. Sir?'' she asks with a friendly voice when they've approached him.

But as if he's chased by the devil himself, the man almost jumps a meter up in the sky and makes a run for it.

''Crap,'' cries Emma. She doesn't even realizes that she's swearing. Applying the right parenting techniques are the last thing on her mind right now. She turns to Henry. ''Kid, you stay here. Wait here for me!'' She doesn't awaits her son's reply and starts following the man in the hoodie.

They've crossed several blocks already before they enter a busy crossing. Like a pro, Emma maneuvers herself between the speeding cars. 'Seriously?' she thinks. 'I thought I never had to do this again.'

The chased man isn't that skilled and almost gets hit by a yellow cab. He falls with his hands down on the hood of the taxi, just a millisecond after the car stopped.

The driver furiously honks the horn, yells something and waves his fist at him.

This incident has slowed the hooded man down and made the distance between him and Emma significantly smaller.

It therefore also doesn't take long before Emma catches up with him. ''Hey!'' she yells. ''Stop! I just want to talk to you!'' She pushes her hands forward and both the blonde and the man smack on the ground.

Because of the fall, his body is turned with his head towards her.

Emma looks up to face him. She feels like she's having an heart attack. ''No…'' she says as she realizes who the man is in front of her.

He looks as surprised as she does. ''Emma?'' he asks.

The blonde jumps up. ''No,'' she says again. ''This can't be.'' She doesn't know what to do. Her heart is telling her to ask questions, to stay, but her head is telling her to flee. Quick. She's completely torn. This is the most unexpected encounter she's ever had. ''This isn't real. You're not really here. That can't be.'' Her hands start to shake and her legs feel like they're made out of jello.

Neal gets past the world-shocking surprise seemingly quicker than the blonde. ''Em relax, it's alright,'' he says soothingly as he places a hand on her arm.

Disgusted she pulls her arm away. He called her 'Em,' like he did when they were together. The memories of that make her feel sick in her stomach. His touch on her arm blows her right back into reality. ''Alright? This is FAR from alright. Sorry, I can't deal with this right now.'' She turns around and walks back the same way she came.

Neal follows her. ''Emma, please, wait! I just want to talk to you.''

'But I don't want to talk to you,' thinks Emma as she keeps walking with firm steps.

''Please Em! Wait!''

Him calling her 'Em' is the last straw, and a sudden feeling of anger overwhelms her. She turns around and faces Neal, her furious eyes penetrating deep into his. ''Don't. Ever. Call. Me. 'Em.' Do you hear me?!'' She waits a few seconds before she continues. ''And what you did to me eleven years ago is the most horrible, and hurtful thing that you could've done to me. You BETRAYED me.'' She leaves out the detail of the pregnancy. ''I'm done with you. I never want to see you again.'' She turns around again and heads back to her son who is anxiously waiting for her to return. ''And don't you dare to follow me,'' she cries as she hears his footsteps behind her.

* * *

''Emma? Are you alright? Did you catch him?'' asks Henry when he sees his mother approaching him.

''No I lost him,'' she lies. She doesn't look Henry in the eye, afraid he might see she's lying. And she feels guilty too. It hurts her that she has to lie to her son.

''So what now? You're just going to give up?''

''If you want to call it that, than yes, than I'm giving up. Come on kid, we're going to share the bad news with Mr Gold.''

Henry is dazzled by this response. He knows his mother is a trooper. She never gives up when she has a goal. ''But maybe Mr Gold knows I way to find him again, and then we can try again later?'' he suggests.

''No Henry, we're done here. We're going home. Taxi!''

* * *

**Thanks for reading! What do you think that will really happen in 2x14, next Sunday? You're always welcome to share your ideas and opinions about the show as well with me. I'm always happy to discuss Once with other fans!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all for the heartwarming responses to the last chapter. You guys are the best! Thanks so much!**

**Okay so next we'll take a look at another bit of Emma's backstory. So 're you guys up for a flashback chapter? Here we go...**

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

_Ten years ago. Oregon State Correctional Institution. Low Security Facility for Women_

''Congratulations, today is the day that you will be released,'' says one of the guards to Emma when she leads the blonde and the other prisoners to the mutual area where they'll have lunch.

Emma remembers the guard as the woman who brought her the envelope with the car key in it, 11 months ago. That was the same day when she found out that she was pregnant. When she came to think about it, this guard was actually the only one who was at least a bit civil to her during the time she spent in jail. ''Yes it is,'' she replies. She counted down the days until she would be released on the wall of her cell. She had used another part of the wall of her cell to count the days since the day her baby was born. The day that Henry was born, and ripped out of her life in an instant. It wasn't necessary to draw these little lines on the wall in order to know old her son was, as she kept track of it in her head, but it was nice to have something physical to hold on to. To have a routine that involved her son. But today is the day that she will be released and she has to start all over again. 'Well at least I've a car…' she thinks sarcastically. Actually she's frightened to death. She has nowhere to go, no family or friends where she can turn to. 'How pathetic, Neal was the only one I had,' she ponders. She takes a seat at the table she normally sits at, together with four other women.

''So they'll let you go today?'' says one of them while she's slurping from the bowl of soup that's standing in front of her. Emma knows her name is Rachel, but they never really spoke to each other before.

''Yes,'' replies Emma. She's not actually listening to what the others are saying and she gazes down at her plate.

''Hey, I asked you something!''

Emma's neighbor obviously said something, but it went completely past the blonde. ''Sorry, come again?'' she therefore asks now.

''I asked if you already know what you're gonna do next?'' the woman taps with the spoon against her plate.

''I've no idea yet,'' she admits.

''Gonna be hard than,'' her neighbor establishes.

Emma sees in the eyes of the other woman that she's liking it. That she's liking the fact that Emma has no one to turn to, no idea where she's going. The woman next to her is someone who enjoys other people's suffering. 'To forget her own misery probably', thinks Emma. During the whole period Emma stayed here, she tried to isolate herself from persons like this, from everyone actually. She's always been a loner, having to deal with transferring from one foster family to another, and here it's nothing different really. She learned from a young age on to take care of herself and that is basically what she's doing here as well. The only time a day she has 'conversations' with other prisoners is during their day job, in the kitchen or in the library. But these conversations don't go further than requesting for things she needs or answering work-related questions of her colleagues. When they have their hour of free time outside, she always walks with her head down or sits in a corner of the concrete enclosed square. The expression on her face is always the same, hard and unfathomable. The walls she built up around her are like the prison walls, thick and indestructible. No one can break through, and others know it. That's why they leave her alone, at least most of the time.

Today it's different. The news of her release spread fast and nosy inmates join their table to catch a glimpse of the mystery girl who's getting out today. ''Do you have family to go to?'' asks one of the other girls.

Emma knows her from the library and she finds it a nice girl to work with. Hard-working and not too forthcoming like some of the others. ''No I don't.''

''And friends?'' asks someone else.

''Nope.'' Emma focusses on her lunch again, trying to make clear that she doesn't feel like talking.

But the hint doesn't work with the girls. ''Ya have a boyfriend?'' asks a brunette.

Emma sighs. ''No I don't.''

''Oh when I get outa here, that's the first thing I'm gonna do. Find myself a man,'' says the girl who just asked Emma about having a boyfriend. Her voice gets louder with each syllable she speaks. ''How I've missed to be in the arms of a strong man, a beast! I would wrap my legs around him and…'' she makes the associated movements with her arms and hips.

''Georgie, shut up and eat your food!'' shouts one of the guards.

Emma is grateful for that, not just because it's finally silent now in the eating area, but also because she doesn't want to be reminded of her relationship with Neal and how that all went wrong. Neal was the first man she truly loved and the memories that are returning to her now, hurt her from the inside. How could he do that to her? Betray her like that, after what they both had gone through. It still didn't make any sense to her. And then that car key? What was the meaning of all that? Was it the feeling of guilt that he had or did it mean something else?

After lunch, all the girls go to back to their workplace, which meant the library for Emma. There were three other girls working that afternoon. The guard from earlier that day is keeping an eye on them from her writing desk. There was not much to do really. Inmates apparently didn't read that much, and only a handful of prisoners visited that afternoon to borrow a book. Emma had sorted the new arrivals on alphabetical order and placed them on the corresponding shelves. She had also done some administration work in the meantime.

''Swan!'' yells the guard to her.

Emma is startled from her thoughts. It almost never happens that they're spoken to by the supervisors. These people mostly sit the whole time, watching TV screens and writing stuff down. ''Yes, Madam?''

''Come here, I need to speak to you.''

Emma does as is told, and walks over to the guard.

The woman talks silently, not letting the other ones hear her. ''Today is your release day, correct?''

''Yes, Madam.'' Emma had learned that it was important to be polite towards the guards, otherwise disciplinary punishments could be the result when no respect is shown towards the superiors.

''And do you already have a plan? For when you're out I mean?''

''No…'' Emma says looking down. ''Madam,'' she quickly adds.

''Listen. I was here the first day you came in. I saw a girl who was totally defeated and hurt. But also a girl who would let no one in. I saw it the minute I saw you: you are different. You are different from each and every one of the other girls here, in a way that you've potential and fighting spirit. The others lack that, and I dare to say that none of the other girls here will ever get out of the criminal circuit. It's like a vicious circle in which they never can escape from. Yes, they will be released here eventually, but they always manage to get back here somehow. But _you _can escape, I know that for sure. I've seen you working here with that much precision and dedication like it's a freaking high-end museum you work for instead of a lousy library. And you've earned the respect of the others, which is the hardest part here.''

The words of the guard leave Emma completely stunned. She never has gotten a compliment in her life and tears are welling up in her eyes.

''There you are!'' it seems like Emma's reaction unfreezes the guard's always so strict attitude. There's even a little smile visible on her face. ''I thought I would never be able to see the _real_ you,'' she continues. ''Okay here's the plan. _Your _plan. A friend of mine works at a probation office in Manhattan, New York. He offers you an administration job there. Actually you're not allowed to leave the state for the next months, as you know. But I've made a deal with the court and they allow you to go to New York. That is if you agree on working at the probation office. I think when I told them it was a probation office you're going to work for, that was the decisive factor for them,'' she adds, even giggling a bit. She's startled by her own reaction and the serious face is coming right back again.

''Why are you doing this for me?'' asks Emma softly.

''Because I know you can do it. You're the only girl here who can, and I don't want that opportunity to go to waste.'' There's a short pause before she continues. ''And when you had your baby, I'm so sorry I wasn't there. They had me working at another facility at the time, and I heard a day later from one of my colleagues that you already had your baby. She also told me you wanted to call him Henry. I quickly contacted the adoption agency and explained the situation. Asked them if they could do something to fulfill that one wish that you had. The official adoption, when the parents would pick up the baby, would be the next day. Apparently the adoptive parents hadn't agreed on a name yet and liked the name 'Henry.' So your kid is out there Emma, and his name is Henry.''

This was all too much for her to handle.

The guard saw it and offered a chair to the blonde.

The other girls in the library looked at the two with suspicion in their eyes, but went on with their work.

''You did all of that? For _me?'' _she manages.

''It's nothing really. Just come by to see me in my office before you leave today to get all the paperwork in order and then you're good to go. Had your car shipped to New York already, you can pick it up at JFK International Airport. Got your flight tickets ready for you as well. You can stay with that friend of mine for the first few weeks, until you find your own place and saved some money.''

''I don't know how I'm ever able to thank you. I can't accept this. It's too much,'' stutters Emma.

''See it as a chance to start a new life.''

''Thank you…''

''Okay, and now back to work. Don't want to miss these last bucks that you earn here right?'' the guard says loudly and strict for the others to hear it.

''Yes Madam,'' Emma plays her part, and gets back to the others.

* * *

She's back in her cell at 5pm. She received a plastic bag from the supervisors to put the few belongings in she has. From below her pillow she retrieves her knitted baby blanket, the only possession she has which she feels a connection with. It is the blanket she was found in, at the side of the road. She holds it in her hands and smells at it, wishing that the smell of her as a baby is still in it, although she knows that that is impossible.

''Ready to go?'' asks a guard that opens her cell door.

''Yes,'' she sighs and she looks around one more time. She definitely will not going to miss this little space, but it also had something safe. Now she has to face the 'angry' world that is outside these prison walls. She's not sure if she's up for it.

''If you want to sign here and here,'' asks the guard, Emma's 'hero', when she's in her office. When all the paperwork is ready, the guard looks up at her. ''Go out there and make me proud. I know you can do it, now it's up to you to find the faith in yourself. You're a good person Emma, show that to the world.''

''Thank you so much… For everything,'' is the only thing the blonde can come up with to say.

''And don't think you get rid of me that easily. I expect a full report of your boss every month on how're doing. And a letter from you once in a while wouldn't be bad either,'' she adds.

''I promise!'' says Emma. It's a promise that's like a vow.

''Okay, so you'll all done here. Off you go. And remember: make me proud.''

And there she goes. Back into the wide, wide world. Starting a new life, with a chance that was given by a prison guard nonetheless. It feels unreal and like she's dreaming. When she gets into the car that will bring her to Portland International Airport, she pinches herself in the arm and the little pang of pain she feels tells her she's not dreaming. That this is all very real.

* * *

**I know, I know that ''Bowl of soup'' thing was really dull and old, but I couldn't help myself writing it down :P But besides that 'weak point,' what did you guys think? Do you like these flashbacks, or do you feel it has to stay in the present time? It's up to you guys, really! And if you have any other suggestions, comments or complaints, please do not shy away and let me hear your ideas! I would greatly appreciate it :)**

**Have fun Sunday watching 'Manhattan' and have a great weekend!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you once again for all the follow's, favorites and reviews. You're really awesome! So what did you think of last weeks episode? Did you recover already from all the shocks and feels? ;) Probably, no wonder that this chapter is largely based on that particular episode, but I hope that I've managed to provide some new twists to the storyline. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

''Did you find him?'' Gold's face is full of anticipation when Emma and Henry enter the bar.

''I'm sorry, he got away.'' Emma doesn't dare to look straight into his eyes.

''You're lying.''

'''No I'm not. I tried. He ran and got away. I'm sorry I can't help you.'' She notices it herself. Her words are coming out of her mouth too fast. Being a walking lie detector, but not being able to tell a lie in a believable way. Perfect…

'''No, no, no Miss Swan, you don't get away with it so easily. We had a deal. You were supposed to bring him to me. You can't break the deal.''

Henry is casting a worried glance at his mother.

''Well I guess there's nothing more I can do now, can I? You don't have the globe here, so I don't think we can ever find him again.'' For some reason she is still holding onto the piece of paper where the address is written on. It starts to burn in her hand. No not again… Quickly she puts the piece of paper in her jacket pocket. Now it feels like her hip is on fire. 'Shoot, I should have just throw it on the ground,' she thinks.

''The piece of paper, it's burning in your pocket isn't?'' asks Gold to Emma as he sees her fumbling it into her pocket and trying to suppress a painful expression.

Emma doesn't answer.

ISN'T IT?! He now yells at her.

''Yes it is!'' she cries out. She can't lie to him anymore.

''That means he's near. Quickly, get out there and bring him to me. You have to let him talk to me.''

''I can't,'' she replies softly.

''What do you mean you can't?'' Gold's getting impatient.

''I mean, I can't!'' she cries out. The sound of desperation is clearly reflected in her voice and both Henry and Gold are looking surprised at her.

''Emma what's wrong?'' asks Henry.

She wants to run out of the café. Run away from everything. But she knows that that's impossible, because that would mean that she risks running into Neal. ''Nothing. It's just…'' she stutters.

''What are you waiting for? Bring him to me!''

''I can't!'' she cries again.

''In that case you break the deal with me. That means that you will have to pay. Big time. I've plenty of ideas on how to hurt you where it hurts the most…''

Emma realizes she doesn't have a choice. The piece of paper is burning even more in her pocket. ''Watch Henry for me. And don't you dare to hurt him, even touch him, with a finger!'' She gets up and walks outside at a slow pace. She looks to her right and as soon as she wants to turn her head to look to her left, she hears her name.

''Emma! Please wait!''

With her head bent down, she walks up towards him.

''You're ready to talk to me now?'' asks Neal surprised.

Her head shoots up again. ''I'm ready to _yell _at you yes. Tell me the truth. Are you Gold's son?'' There's still a glimmer of hope in her eyes, the hope that this is all a huge misunderstanding.

''What are you talking about? Who's Gold?'' Neal reacts genuinely unknowing.

''Your father! Rumplestiltskin!''

Neal is quiet for a few seconds before he starts to speak again. ''Wait, he's here?''

''So it is true! You are his son! You're from _there_. She pronounces the last words like it's something disgusting. ''That means you played me. You _both _played me. I can't, I can't…'' She feels like she's going to hyperventilate.

''Emma, you brought him here? Why the hell would you do that?!'' He cries.

''Hey, I'm the only one allowed to be angry here!''

Her furious reaction makes him step back a bit.

''You knew who I was all along?! Was this some sort of sick, twisted plan?! Did you even care about me, at all?''

''Emma, what's wrong? Why are you yelling? Is this Baelfire?''

Emma was so focused on Neal that she hadn't noticed that her son had left the bar and was now standing next to her.

''Emma?'' the boy asks again. His eyes shoot from his mother to Neal.

''Who is this?'' asks Neal.

''My son,'' she whispers.

Neal is looking at Henry, and back at Emma again. ''How old is he?''

''I'm eleven! Now can please someone explain me what's going on here? Mom why are you crying?''

It is the second time Henry ever called her mom, but this time she barely notices it. She's worrying too much about the consequences of telling her son who this man in front of them is. It would break his heart.

''Now you have to tell me the truth. Is this my son?'' asks Neal.

''Yes, he is.'' She kneels down to come face to face with Henry. ''I'm so sorry I didn't tell you.''

The boy is in shock. ''No this is not true. My father was a fireman. A hero. And he _died.'' _

''That… wasn't true. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to tell you because…''

''You lied to me,'' Henry manages. ''You didn't just didn't tell me, but you _lied _to me. You're just like her. Like Regina. She always lied to me too.''

The news of him having a son hits Neal like a bombshell. ''This is my son?'' he asks, pointing at Henry. ''Why didn't you tell me?''

But Emma doesn't hear his question. She's too concerned with Henry's angriness. She has never seen him like this before. ''Henry, I…''

The boy nods his head in disagreement and walks off.

''Henry, please wait!'' Emma cries. She tries to follow him.

But the boy walks on and doesn't look back.

''Emma, please allow me,'' requests Neal.

''No, he's my son, I need to take care of this! Please go away.''

''He's my son too,'' he says softly and he starts following Henry into the direction of a busy crossroad.

The blonde is not trying to stop him. Henry isn't going to talk nor listen to her. And Neal's right after all, the boy is his son too. But why does it hurt her so much than? Her feelings are torn. In an impulse she grabs her phone from her pocket and dials an all too familiar number.

''_Emma? What's wrong?'' _It's like the woman on the other end simply knows that something has happened.

''Mary, it's all falling apart here.'' There's no way that she's able to keep down the tears that she's been feeling ever since she saw Neal again here in Manhattan. Not now she hears the comforting voice of her mother on the other end of the line.

''_One sec Emma.''_

The blonde hears some noises on the other end before she hears her mother's voice again.

''_Emma, David is here with me too. I've you on speakerphone. What happened?''_

Henry's father, Neal. He's here, he's in New York. He's Gold's son!''

''_Slow down honey. We can't follow. You found Henry's father in New York?''_

''Yes!'' she cries out of frustration. ''And he's Gold's son! He lied to me, they both set me up!''

''_But how?''_

''Yes, that's exactly the question I desperately want to get an answer to. But the worst thing of all is, I wanted to keep him a secret for Henry, but he found out… He's so mad at me Mary Margaret. I don't think he ever will forgive me.'' In the meantime she's keeping an eye on the corner of the street where Neal and Henry made a turn to the right. But she doesn't see the two.

''_Emma, calm down. Henry can't stay mad at you forever. He's a clever and understanding little boy. He'll forgive you. And he loves you. Now listen to me. Take a deep breath, can you do that for me?'' _

Charming's soothing voice performs miracles. The blonde takes three deep breaths before she continues talking. ''He walked away from me. He said I am exactly the same as Regina, because I lied to him too.''

''_Oh, Emma…''_ Snow's heart goes out to her daughter. _''He doesn't mean that. He just said that probably in the heat of the moment. Where is he now?''_

''He ran away Mary. Neal has gone after him, cause Henry doesn't want to talk to me anymore. I really didn't want him to find out about his father. I'm afraid he can't handle this.''

''_You're afraid that he can't handle it, or that you can't handle it…?'' _

Her mother's words hit Emma like a stab in the heart. She knows Snow is right. But she's not willing to admit it. The whole situation didn't affect her stubbornness. ''I need to find my son and his.. father.'' She quickly hangs up the phone as she wants to avoid any more of these difficult conversations.

* * *

''Did she just hang up on me?'' says Snow offended, looking down surprised at the phone.

''I guess she did,'' grins Charming. ''So but to make this all clear, Rumplestiltskin is Henry's grandfather?

Snow still is flabbergasted by the phone conversation they just had with their daughter. ''What? Oh, yes, apparently.''

''But _I'm _his grandfather!''

''You can have more than one,'' she states matter-of-factly.

Charming tries to fit all the pieces of the puzzle, or actually, the branches of the family tree, together. ''Okay, this family tree is getting way too confusing for me. It's a good thing that we don't have Thanksgiving in our land, cause that dinner would suck.''

Snow stops and thinks for a bit. ''Or.. maybe this will mellow everyone out.''

''Snow, do you really think that will work? I mean, all these relationships that are messed up now because of all that is going on.''

She sighs. ''Oh, I don't know, I just said that cause… Well never mind.'' She starts pulling back the sheets that creased when they sat on the bed, talking to their daughter.

''Snow, everything you say, you say with a reason. So if this is important to you, it's important to me. And I really hope that you're right, that this will mellow everyone out. I'm just not sure if that will happen. At least not on the short-term.''

She looks up at him and waves her hand. ''Just forget it, I'm too optimistic.''

He cupps her cheek and looks into her beautiful dark eyes. ''No, you're perfect.'' He places a gentle kiss on her lips.

''I'm worried about her Charming. About her and Henry.'' She lays her head on his shoulder.

''I know, me too.''

* * *

As soon as Emma hangs up the phone, Neal and Henry appear in sight again and walk up to her. She sees that her son is still looking angry and confused when he sees her, but the fire that was visible in his eyes earlier, is gone.

''You're actually not as bad as I expected, considering that Emma didn't want me to know you,'' says Henry to Neal.

Emma can't suppress a half-grin when she hears him saying this.

''Did I pass the test?'' Neal replies jokingly to his son.

''We're getting there, we're getting there,'' is the boy's serious answer.

''Okay, now shall we go into that bar and talk this all over accompanied by a drink?'' he asks Emma.

''Well, a drink is not the only company you'll be getting by going over there.''

Neal realizes what she just said. ''Wait, he's there? My _father _is in there?''

''Yes he is. He's waiting there for you.''

''In that case we go someplace else. There is no way that you can get me in that bar when _he _is there.''

Emma frowns. ''I've made a deal. I'm supposed to get you to talk to him.''

''What did you do? You made a deal with him? Why would you do that? He's dangerous Emma!'' Neal's clearly panicked.

''Don't you think I know that? I helped out a friend, and that's when I made the deal. Now _please_ go inside and talk to him.''

''Okay, okay, I will.'' He wants to protect Emma. He had seen what Rumplestiltskin, or The Dark One, did to people who break his deals. ''But first I need you to let me explain my side of the story.''

''Not now,'' she sighs, looking down at Henry. A sudden feeling of exhaustion overwhelms her. ''If you promise to go talk to your father in there, I promise you I'll give you one chance to tell your side of the story. But not now, not here. Let's meet in the hotel lobby tonight at 7pm. We're staying there,'' she points, ''at the Four Seasons. Come Henry, we're going back to the hotel.''

''But I want to stay with Neal!''

Neal kneels to the boy's level. ''This time you have to listen to your mother Henry. I'm sure we'll meet again soon.'' Having said that, he casts a hopeful look at Emma, who after a few seconds nods silently.

''Okay than…'' agrees Henry and he follows his mother back to the hotel.

* * *

''Henry, can you please say something? Anything? Be mad at me, disappointed in me, but _please _say something.'' The blonde and her son are having an early dinner, but the boy hasn't said a word since they returned to their hotel room. It's the most awful feeling Emma has ever felt, her son ignoring her, for a reason she is well-aware of.

He's just sitting there across the table, pricking his food with his fork, but not really eating anything.

''Henry…?'' she tries yet another time.

Suddenly, the boy drops his fork on his plate. It makes such a loud noise that Emma is startled by it. ''WHAT?! What would you like me to say? I said what I needed to say this afternoon. I just don't understand why you lied to me about who my father is.''

Other people in the restaurant are looking at the mother and her son who's experiencing a major outburst.

''I did that, because I wanted to protect you,'' she says softly, placing her hand on her son's arm. ''Neal was a bad man, a criminal, a thief.''

He pulls back his arm. ''Yeah right, and if I remember correctly, _you _went to jail as well. And did I care about that? No I didn't. Because I believe in giving people a second chance. You just had to tell me the _real _story about my father Emma. I could've handled the truth you know?''

''I know that now. I'm so sorry Henry. I shouldn't have lied to you.''

'''No you shouldn't.'' He shuts down again.

Emma notices it and looks him straight in the eye. ''Please listen to me. That man broke my heart. That part of my life, together with him, I wanted to forget. That's why I didn't tell you. I was selfish, only thinking of me, not you. I'm sorry,'' she whispers.

''Can I see him again?''

''Yes, you can.'' She finds it difficult to say this, but she knows that Henry has the full right to see his dad if he wants to.

The boy nods and finally picks up his fork, to actually eat something.

* * *

''It's Belle right?'' asks Greg as he enters Belle's room in the hospital. He closes the door behind him.

He just got released, and is all dressed up and ready to go.

''Yes, but who are you?'' the girl asks carefully.

''My name is Greg, I'm the driver of the car. You know, of the accident.''

''Oh yes. How are you feeling?''

''I'm fine, they just released me, so I'm good to go home. What about you?''

''That's wonderful news,'' replies the brunette. ''They'll probably let me go tomorrow, the doctor just told me.''

''Good, good.'' He hesitates before continuing. ''Listen, there is something I need to talk to you about. Earlier today I was walking to the coffee machine to get a coffee, and I saw that the door to your room was open. I couldn't help myself to take a look inside. I now need to ask you something. Did you notice anything strange from the moment you're being here?''

Belle reacts like she's completely oblivious. ''What do you mean?''

''Well I wasn't sure at first, I thought that I might wasn't so clear-minded because of the accident, but after what I've seen today…''

''What did you see?'' she asks, suddenly sitting straight up in her bed.

''You know something don't you?'' Greg realizes that the girl isn't telling the whole truth.

''Well, yes there are some weird things that I saw which I can't really explain, but I don't know if it means anything…''

''Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll show you the video I made this afternoon, if you tell me what it is what you saw?''

''Fine,'' she replies, still a bit wary.

He presses some buttons on his phones, until a frozen image appears, showing a sleeping Belle in the hospital bed, and a dark-haired woman standing next to her.

''Hey, that woman came by to visit me today, but I've no idea what she came doing here?''

Greg presses the 'play' button. The video shows Regina waving her arms, whereupon items from Belle's handbag magically fly around in the air.

Belle is gasping for breath and clenches onto her pillow. ''What the hell is that?!''

''It's what I saw this afternoon. Now tell me, what did you see?''

Now that she has seen the video, Belle is a 100% sure that what she had seen earlier, she didn't made up. She tells Greg about the strange man that mysteriously healed her wound at the location of the accident, and who had held a fireball in his hands not long after that.

''You see Belle. There're some strange things happening in this town, and I don't want to stay here for another minute longer. I don't know about you?''

The brunette is doubting. ''But there were two very friendly girls here staying with me the other day. They even gave me a book to read, and that brought back a piece of my memory...''

''Don't let you be fooled by them! I'm sure that these people are up to something, and from what we both have seen, that can't be good.''

''I guess you're right…''

''So my plan is to leave, and I can't leave you here alone, with them. With these freaks. So please come with me. I'm sure my car has been fixed by now, so we can escape within a few hours. I'll just pick it up and come back to get you, as soon as the nurses have finished their rounds.''

Belle made up her mind. So yes there were two nice ladies taking care of her, but what if their actual plan is to hurt her? And what if that crazy man comes back? ''Okay, let's do it.''

* * *

**As always, please leave a review! :) You're feedback is always taken into account :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow you guys are really amazing! Thank you as always for your support. That's the only thing that keeps me going. **

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

''_Snow you've to come over to the hospital right away!'' _

''Red, slow down. What's wrong?'' The panic reflected in her friends' voice gives Snow chills all over. She holds the phone firmly in her hand while she's sitting on the couch in the living room.

''_Belle's gone. Like she's vanished.''_

''What do you mean she's gone? She's not supposed to be released from the hospital before tomorrow?''

''_That was my exact same question to Dr Whale a few minutes ago, but apparently they didn't release her. He reacted just as shocked on her disappearance as I did. I came into her room and she was just. Gone. I checked the bathroom, the waiting area, everything. She's just not here anymore Snow.''_

''Okay, stay there, I'll be coming right over.'' The brunette hangs up the phone and quickly gets her handbag and coat from the coatrack.

Charming is at the sheriffs' station, trying to find any information on Cora's whereabouts.

Snow storms out of the apartment, gets into her car and drives towards Storybrooke General.

* * *

Emma sits at the bar of the hotel, sipping from her drink. She glances at the fancy clock on the wall behind her. 7.08pm, it reads. 'He's late,' she thinks. Nervously she taps with her fingers on her glass. ''Emma, I'm so sorry,'' she suddenly hears behind her. ''You're late,'' is her response.

''I know, heavy traffic and… Well it's New York after all,'' he tries.

''Yeah whatever, so you wanted a chance to do your story. The time is now. I give you 30 minutes.'' Emma has her guards on. She actually doesn't want to hear his story at all. If there was a hole in the ground she could jump in and just disappear, she would. Metaphorically speaking of course. She never wants to experience anything like that Jefferson's-hat-incident ever again.

Neal explains her that he learned from August who she was and what she was meant to do. That he only reported her to the police so that she was able to fulfill her destiny.

''And precisely that is what makes me sick. The fact that I'm not able to live my own life. That it necessarily has to be directed by everyone else, because I've some sort of _purpose_ and a destiny to fulfill. I didn't choose for that! And by the way, you did what _Pinocchio _told you to do_?!'' _Emma's voice is filled with rage. Then, she breaks down. ''I _loved _you! How could you do this to me?''

''I was trying to help you. I was trying to get you home. This was the only way to do that. If we would have stayed together, you wouldn't have been able to break the curse.''

Emma sighs. ''Fine. Fine! So what do we do now? Did you talk to your dad?''

''Yes, he wants me to come with you guys to Storybrooke.''

''And? Are you going to do that?'' Emma isn't sure if she wants Neal coming with them or not. She knows Henry would be devastated if they would have to leave without his father, but she on the other hand isn't ready for a happy lasting reunion with her ex-boyfriend.

''It's complicated.''

''Complicated, how?''

''It's complicated because… I'm together with someone Emma.'' He doesn't dare looking the blonde in the eyes.

Emma knew that that was a possibility, but hearing it directly from him makes the knot in her stomach grow tighter. ''I see,'' she only says.

''Don't get me wrong, I really want to get to know Henry and I can't think of a better way to do that than going with you guys, but I just can't. Not yet. I didn't really have had the time to figure it all out. But I will, I promise.''

''I understand,'' she nods quietly and turns her head away.

Neal still notices the painful look in the blondes eyes and is hurt by it.

''Henry was asking for you. Would you like to see him?'' Emma asks, changing the subject.

''Only if that's okay with you?''

''Yes.'' The blonde precedes Neal to her hotel room.

They find Henry lying on the bed reading a book. He jumps up the second he sees them entering the room. ''Neal! You came!'' He runs over to his dad and falls into his arms.

Emma's observing the situation and can't help but to feel a sense of warmth running through her body when she sees that the two act like they always have known each other.

Henry is showing Neal a comic book that he bought at the airport, and they talk non-stop for almost an hour.

Emma's keeping a distance. She feels it's better to leave the two having some time together to get to know each other. That is why she first takes a quick shower and reads a magazine later. Of course there is no way that she can keep her mind on actually reading the magazine for longer than a minute at the time. She regularly peeks over the magazine to glance at her son and his father.

''Okay, kid, I think it's better that I go now. It's getting late already,'' says Neal suddenly as he gets up from the bed.

Emma is surprised by the fact that Neal calls Henry 'kid' as well. It has become a sort of nickname for her son that she unconsciously felt to 'own, ' so it sounds weird to hear it used by someone else.

''Can't you stay a bit longer? We don't have to get up early tomorrow, right Emma? So it's fine if you decide to stay a little longer,'' the boy decides.

''No Henry, I'm sorry, but I really have to go.''

Emma walks him out. ''Thank you for visiting Henry, I can already tell that he adores you.''

''Well that feeling is mutual. It's a great kid Emma, you did a great job raising him.''

''I wish I could say that it was only me doing all the parenting, but unfortunately that's not true. He has lived with Regina for almost his whole life,'' she says.

''Regina? Regina the Evil Queen?'' he asks surprised.

''Yes well, in this world she goes by mayor Regina.''

''Imagine that,'' he says dryly.

''Yes, imagine that. Well good night Neal. I hope we can continue our conversation on how it goes from here, tomorrow?''

He wants to ask her much more about his son and their life back in Storybrooke, but he sees that Emma is tired. ''Yes, I'll be here tomorrow morning. But first I've a lot to explain to my… girlfriend.'' For some reason he finds it hard to mention her to Emma.

''How do you think you'll do that? Does she know about your _past_?''

''No she doesn't. And I'm not intended to go into more detail than necessary. Hearing from me that I have a son I didn't even know about, will cause her having a heart attack as it is. I don't even know how the hell to bring that news to her, let alone all of the other things.''

Emma nods understandingly. ''Yes, I know from experience that it's not easy to take it all in, I can assure you that.''

''Good night Emma.''

'''Good night Neal.'' She watches him heading for the elevator. ''What's her name?'' she suddenly asks.

Neal turns around. ''Tamara,'' he answers.

* * *

''Where's Hook?'' is the first thing Snow asks when she enters the hospital and sees her friend in the waiting room.

''Don't worry, he's still out. ''But there's still no sign of Belle anywhere,'' answers Red.

''And what about Greg?''

''Dr. Whale told me they released him today. You don't think that…?''

''I don't know,'' answers Snow. ''He told us he didn't see anything. But what if he lied? What if he did see something… _magical_? There must be some sort of connection between him being released and Belle's disappearance. I just don't know what it is yet. This time I don't believe it's just a mere coincidence.''

''Snow we have to find them! She can be in danger!'' Red's hands are trembling.

Snow places a reassuring hand on her friends arm. ''I'll call Charming. We'll need to start up a search.'' She takes out her phone from her handbag and dials the number of the sheriff's station.

* * *

That afternoon, they start their search for Greg and Belle, together with six of the dwarfs (Grumpy stayed in the hospital to keep an eye on Hook).

Snow and Red are covering the town center. They ask everyone if they've seen Belle or Greg, but until now they don't seem to have luck on their side.

''We've to find her Snow, I can't live with the thought that something happened to her and that we didn't do anything to stop it.

''We will find her.''

Red's voice is slightly panicking. ''I can't sense her anywhere.''

Snow suddenly stops and pulls her friend arm. ''Wait, is that who I think it is?'' She points at a person standing in the distance.

''Regina?'' asks Red.

''Yes.''

* * *

When Neal is gone, it hits Emma for real. It all hits her at once and she isn't prepared for it. Heavily breathing she sits down on the edge of the bed and covers her face with her hands.

Henry just comes out of the bathroom. ''Mom, what's wrong?'' He sits down next to her and looks worried, like the angriness he felt towards her flowed out of him the moment he saw her sitting like that.

The blonde hadn't see him coming and quickly dries the few tears that run over her cheek. ''It's nothing. Just silly. Get ready for bed kid.''

He does as he's asked and lays down in bed, pulling the sheets up to his chin. His focus is still on his mother.

Emma falls back on the bed. Mother and sons are now looking at each other in silence.

''Thanks mom for inviting Neal here. I know it must be hard for you.''

She smiles at him. ''You're welcome kid. And I'm sorry.''

''I know you are. I just need some more time to understand everything.''

Emma softly strokes away a strand of hair that is almost in Henry's eye. ''The first thing we have to do when we get back is getting you a haircut,'' she jokes.

He gives her a big grin and closes his eyes.

''Good night Henry,'' she whispers.

* * *

**Please leave a review :) Much appreciated! **

**Have fun tomorrow with the Paley Fest and with the brand new EP later :) **


	9. Chapter 9

**I would like to thank you for your great support! Let's quickly continue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

''Where're we going?'' Belle suddenly feels insecure about the whole situation. She still hasn't gained any of her memories back and the thought of her leaving with this 'stranger,' terrifies her. She went with Greg in an impulse, being frightened by the clip he showed her on his phone of that dark-haired woman, but the truth was, she had nowhere to go.

''Not far. I know someone at one of Maine's biggest TV stations, and I think he would be more than willing to take a look at the video I made, and to listen to our stories. This is huge. Do you realize how rich it can make us both?'' Greg is driving the car and they're approaching the 'leaving Storybrooke' sign. While he appeared just as scared and frightened by all that has happened as Belle before in the hospital, now it seems that he's only excited by the idea of getting rich.

''Wait, you're only doing this to make money out of it?'' Belle grabs the sides of her seat and looks at him with frowned eyebrows.

''Well of course it's not only that. I really want to protect you and I know for sure that, that town isn't safe. ''He points with his eyes to the town sign.

Somehow, all of this didn't feel good. At all. ''So, why can't we just leave it with that? If you can drop me off somewhere near Boston, and forget about it all? We can just go our own, separate ways, and just be happy that we got out of the accident alive.'' Her thoughts go back to Mary Margaret and Ruby who took very good care of her in the hospital. They didn't deserve an invasion of the whole freaking world, when this information would leak out.

''I'm afraid I can't do that,'' is his silent reply.

The tone of that sends shivers up to Belle's spine. ''Okay, please stop the car. I don't want have anything to do with this.''

Greg doesn't reply and keeps his eyes fixated on the road ahead of them.

A wave of panic is overpowering the brunette. ''Hey! Let me out!'' When they're approaching a junction, and Greg is forced to slow down for a red traffic light, she reaches for the door handle.

But the man is quicker and activates the central locking system. ''I didn't think so. You need to come with me and tell your part of the story to the TV station.''

''You can't force me to do that! I'm not saying a word to them.''

An evil smile appears on Greg's face, before he takes an exit towards a gas station. They're only a few miles out of Storybrooke. He parks the car and gets out. The parking lot seems abandoned, just as the rest of the gas station. ''I'm getting us something to eat. I'm up for something different than the hospital food they fed us over the last days, what about you?'' He turns back around to face her again, like he suddenly remembers something. ''And don't think about leaving, cause the doors and windows won't open from the inside when I lock them.''

She hears the clicking-sounds of the car doors being locked, and she looks at how Greg makes his way to the little store next to the petrol pumps. 'Perfect,' she thinks. 'Why the hell did I agreed in going with this lunatic? What was I thinking?' Even though she knows that this will probably never work, she tries all the door handles and windows. But with no luck of course. Desperately she looks around for anything that can help her escape. Suddenly her eyes set on the fire extinguisher. It is laying underneath the passenger seat. If she can bring up enough strength to lift the thing and smash the car window… But she's still feeling quite weak and a failed attempt, would definitely draw Greg's attention. No that's not a good idea. She needs to come up with something else.

But there is no time, cause Greg is coming back towards the car, with a paper bag in his hands.

Belle is still firmly holding onto the fire extinguisher, which is resting on her lap. In the split-second that he opens the driver's door, she takes the final decision. She lifts up the red object and aims for Greg's head. She puts all her anger and fear into the hit and a growling sound escapes her mouth.

The man's head is blown backwards by the blow and a snapping sound coming from his skull seems to echo all over the parking lot.

Belle looks in terror at what she just did.

Greg is now lying unconsciously on the asphalt next to the car, with a pool of blood quickly developing in a circle around his head.

'I killed him. I killed him.' is the only thought the brunette has. 'I'm a murderer.'

The entering of a car to the parking lot, forces her to snap out of it and come into action. Greg had dropped the car keys when he fell, and with shaking hands, she picks them up and puts it in the ignition, like she saw him doing earlier. She has no memories of driving a car, so she has also no idea if she's actually able to do it, but she feels that there is no other option. It's a good thing that she had observed Greg doing it earlier, so she knows she has to put the stick in the middle into ''drive'' and push with her foot on one of the pedals below her feet. But there are two pedals, and when trying the first one, nothing happens. 'So this must be the break. Relax, you can do it.' She tries the other one, and the car shoots forwards, almost hitting a wall at the end of the parking lot. She gives a quick turn to the steering wheel and releases some of the grip of her foot on the pedal, and notices with relief that the car slows down and moves away from the brick wall. Her eyes are filled with tears and she's scared to death. This doesn't support her freshly-obtained driving skills, and she winds towards the exit of the gas station, onto the main road.

Oncoming cars honk at her, as she accidently enters the wrong side of the road. She holds so convulsively onto the steering wheel, that her knuckles turn white. Drops of sweat are dripping down her face. It is until she passes the ''Welcome to Storybrooke'' sign, that she loses the control over the car. The tires slip over a muddy part of the roadside and make the car rotate twice on its axis. Belle puts both of her arms protectively over her head and screams loudly. The inevitable sight of trees are reaching up in front of her, and she can't do nothing else but wait for the blow…

* * *

''What do we do?'' asks Red to Snow. ''Shall we go to her or not?''

But there's no need for her to make a decision, as Regina already walks up towards the two brunettes.

''Snow White, wolf-girl, what an unpleasant surprise.''

''I guess we can say the same thing to you,'' replies Snow with clenched teeth.

''How is my son?'' The smirk on the former Queen's face is greater than ever.

''Do you really think we're willing to share that information with you?''

The smirk on Regina's face disappears as fast as it came. '''For the record, he is MY son, and your _precious _daughter abducted him. So yes, I think I´m in the right position to ask about his wellbeing.´´

''He is fine…'' Snow finally admits.

''What did he say?'' asks Regina eagerly.

Snow's answer is short and concise. ''Just that they're fine, nothing more and nothing less. Now I've a question for you. Where is your mother?''

''I've no idea what you're talking about?'' the smirk is back.

''Cut the crap Regina, we know she's back. Now, answer Snow's question. Where is Cora?'' Red is startled by her own words. She doesn't know if it is because of the fact that she's worried for her missing friend, or because of the anger she feels towards the Queen, but there's something that make her harden her tone.

Snow looks surprised at her friend.

''Excuse me? How do you dare to talk to me in that way?''

Red points her eyes right back at Regina. ''Snow asked you a question. A question you damn well know the answer too. So stop beating around the bush and answer her damnit!'' Her breathing fastens with every syllable.

''Red, ssst, it's okay,'' tries Snow to calm down her friend.

''No, it's not okay!...''

''Ladies, interrupts Regina Red's next tirade, ''I think it's better to continue our conversation at a later time. There clearly are some issues you need to work out first, and I don't want to interfere.'' She turns around and walks away.

''Regina wait!'' cries Snow. ''What is it you wanted to tell us? We haven't seen you for so long, and here you are all of a sudden, walking around town like nothing happened.''

Regina turns around. ''I also need to eat Snow. I was just doing some groceries, that's all. Good day.''

Before Snow is able to ask anything else, her phone rings.

Regina walks around the corner and out of sight.

''Charming? Any news? … What?! We're on our way.''

''Snow what is it?'' Red has been waiting impatiently for her friend to finish the phone conversation with her husband.

''They found Belle, she…'' Snow isn't really sure how to bring this news to her friend. ''She was in an accident…''

''What?! No! How?!''

Snow quickly takes both of Red's arms to prevent her from falling down to the ground. She had never seen her friend so defeated like this before. She knows that Red has a huge sense of responsibility and from the beginning on she had tried to protect Belle in any way she could. The fact that Belle was first missing and now hurt, must have made Red feel powerless and like she had failed. ''I don't know the details of what has happened, but he said we have to get over there quickly. But she's conscious Red, so she'll be fine.''

They take Snow's car to get to the location Charming just mentioned to his wife, and when they arrive, they see that the place is bustling with people. Charming and Sleepy are bent over the car they recognize as Greg's. The other dwarfs are standing around the scene. An ambulance had just arrived and paramedics are unloading a stretcher. The front of Greg's car looks pretty beaten up.

As soon as Snow and Red get out of their car, Red runs towards Charming and Sleepy who are talking to the girl in the car. ''Belle, Belle, are you alright?'' She almost pushes the two men aside to be able to look inside.

The brunette is holding a white cloth against her temple, where she has a bruise from bumping with her head against the steering wheel. ''Why is everyone calling me Belle?! My name is Lacey, goddammit. What the hell is wrong with you people?! Jeez, get out of my way, I'm fine!'' Belle, or Lacey, tries to get out of the car, but is stopped by Charming.

''Hey, calm down you. Just stay in the car until the paramedics are ready to do a check-up on you.''

Red is observing the situation in bewilderment. This isn't the Belle she knows. Not even the Belle she saw the last days in the hospital. And what is that with the name 'Lacey?'

* * *

A hard knock on the door startles Emma and Henry. They just had breakfast in bed (Gold is paying, so why not enjoying the room service that is offered?), and Emma just took a shower. When she answers the door, a furious-looking woman is standing in front of it.

''What the hell are you think you're doing? Trying to win back Neal in some sort of sick way by telling him he's the father of your child?!''

Neal is racing towards them. ''Tamara, please, stop, it's really not like that.''

Henry comes standing behind his mother, surprised at what al the yelling is about.

Emma is taken aback by the sudden outburst of the visitor. She turns around and faces Henry. ''Wait here kid.'' She turns back to Tamara and Neal and says: ''let's take this outside.'' She closes the door behind her, and directs to two loved ones to the other end of the hallway.

''Emma I'm sorry, this wasn't supposed to happen,'' apologizes Neal.

''You must be Neal's girlfriend?'' asks Emma coolly to the African-American woman.

''His _fiancé,_'' corrects Tamara her with an envious undertone.

For a second, a hurtful glance is visible in Emma's eyes, when she looks from Tamara to Neal. But she knows to get a grip on herself and continues: ''okay, his _fiancé._''

''Yes I am, and I really don't appreciate the way how you handle these things. Are you really such a desperate woman that, you go this far to get him to go with you? And you,'' she turns to Neal, ''what the hell is wrong with you? I really didn't expect you to fall for something like this.''

''It is not a trick,'' tries Emma to explain. It's…''

''I don't want to hear another word coming from your mouth!'' snorts Tamara. ''I was talking to my _fiancé_.'' She puts extra emphasize to that last word.

''Tamara, please, calm down. I've tried to explain it to you this morning. What I said earlier is the truth.''

''Yeah, well, why does she turn up after so many years claiming that you're her child's father? Why now?''

This is clearly a question that only can be answered by the blonde. ''Because…''

''What did I say? Not a _single _word!''

Emma raises up her hands in defense and disbelief.

When Neal doesn't reply her immediately, Tamara cries: ''Whatever, if this is how you want it, you can get it.'' She walks to the elevator with big, dramatic steps and she gets in immediately, as someone holds the doors for her.

''Tamara, wait! Please!'' cries Neal, but his words bounces off against the closed elevator doors.

''So… that went smoothly…'' notes Emma dryly.

* * *

**Thank you again for reading! Leaving a review with your comments, notes or feedback in general is always more than welcome :) In fact you would make me very happy with it :) And if you ever feel the need to talk about the episodes, or the show in general, please do not hesitate to send a PM :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you so much once again for all your support! I really hope you like the story so far? This time I felt the need to mainly write a Neal & Emma chapter, so I hope you like that also? Please review and share your thoughts, opinions and ideas with me. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just this profile :)**

* * *

''Yeah I know, sorry about that all…'' replies Neal to Emma's sarcastic comment.

The expression on Emma's face hardens. ''You just stood there and let her yell at me, like I'm some sort of insane person, really capable of doing these things she blames me of.''

''I tried to stop her, I really did…''

''Seriously Neal?'' She frowns in disbelief. ''The attempts you made were worth nothing. Are you scared of her or something?'' Emma was too overwhelmed by Tamara's outburst earlier to say something, but now the woman has left, anger takes the upper hand. She is hurt as well. Hurt by the fact that Neal's engaged. How silly that may sound.

Neal seems to know her better than she realizes. ''Are you jealous of her? Is that what this is about?''

''Well, this really tops everything! You think that I care that a guy I dated a decade ago is engaged?''

''I don't know?...''

''Neal! You're even more stupid than I thought.'' She quickly tries to change the subject, so that the blush that is appearing on her cheeks will not be noticed by him. ''You better fix this, and fast, cause the plane we're booked on leaves tomorrow. That is, if you still are planning on coming with us?'' After the conversation they had earlier, Emma had assumed that he was coming with them to Storybrooke, but after the short encounter she had with his fiancé, she wasn't sure anymore.

''Yes I guess so. I mean, I can't think of you and Henry leaving while I stay here. That doesn't feel right. I just got to meet my son and now I've to say goodbye to him again. No, I should come with you guys.'' He sounds determined.

A sense of relief runs through Emma's body, but she's not willing to admit this.

''Or were you planning on staying here?'' asks Neal jokingly.

Emma didn't catch the humorous undertone that accompanied the question. She's too caught up in all the emotions and feelings that have haunted her since she saw Neal again for the first time in Manhattan. ''No we can't. Our family is in Storybrooke. They need us there.'' 'And we need them' she thinks straight after, but she doesn't say these words out loud.

''Hey, I was just kidding,'' says Neal in a soothing, low voice. He sees the confusion in Emma's eyes and takes her hand in his. ''You know, I never stopped loving you,'' he whispers.

The blonde is looking down to her shoes.

He lifts her chin, so she's forced to look him in the eyes.

''You didn't?'' she asks doubtingly. ''Why did you call the cops on me than? How can that be love?''

He is still holding her hand. ''You know why. Because it was the only way.'' There is a moment of silence before he continues. ''I almost couldn't do it you know? I stood by that payphone for minutes, maybe even longer. Holding this coin in my fingers, turning and turning it. But I wasn't able to insert it into the machine. I knew I was going to cause you so much pain if I would insert that coin and dial the phone number of the local police station. That that movement would end everything. A simple action like that, would destroy everything we had, everything we built up. But I knew it would be selfish of me to not do it. Your family needed you. The town needed you. And I knew that, in the end, you would get to meet your family. Something you had wished for your whole life. Because that is what you told me. The fantasies you had as a little child, about your parents being the prince and princess of a faraway land. And we both know now that that wasn't far from the truth, now was it?''

A watery smile appears on Emma's face, but her eyes are filled with tears, ready to drop any minute.

He takes her other hand and continues. And later when you were a bit older, you told your classmates that your parents were ambassadors and always on the move. That that was the reason that you were in the foster system. But that within a couple of years, when you were old enough, they would pick you up and show you the world. I remembered that you told me that yourself Emma. That was the moment that I decided to make the call. So that you would be able to meet your family. Your real family.''

Tears are running now all over Emma's face.

Carefully, almost like he's afraid that he's going to break her, he takes her in his arms.

Her body has been tense the whole time they were standing in the hallway of the hotel, but it relaxes as soon as she let herself fall into Neal's embrace. She is sobbing heavily at this point. It's like all the frustrations and fear of the last months escapes her all at once.

And Neal is there to hold her, to whisper soothing words and to comfort her the best he can. Just like eleven years ago. ''It's okay Emma, you can let it out. I'm here now. I'm not leaving you.''

''I'm… I'm sorry,'' stutters Emma between her sobs.

''Ssst, you don't have to be sorry for anything. I'm the one who has to apologize.'' He slowly rubs her back.

Finally, Emma find enough strength in her legs to pull back a little. ''I'm sorry,'' she says again.

They keep looking at each other, with their heads only a few inches apart. It's like a wave of electricity grows between the two. Neal still has his arms around her back and shoulders, but now his hand shifts towards her neck. They glance at each other intensely. He almost drowns in the dark depth of her eyes.

It is then that Emma places a soft kiss on Neal's mouth. She's startled by her own action and pulls back almost immediately.

But Neal gently pulls her head back and kisses her with so much love, it's almost unbearable for the blonde.

She then opens her mouth and allows him to deepen the kiss.

They're both lost in their own little, perfect world. A bomb could drop on the building, and they still wouldn't notice it. It's an overwhelming experience, completely new and yet so familiar.

Neal let his fingers go through Emma's soft hair. He strokes her warm cheeks. And the whole time that they're kissing, he can't keep his eyes off her.

Emma has her eyes closed, enjoying the moment to the fullest. She has placed her hands on Neal's back and feels the roughness of the stubbles on his face.

''Mom? Uhm, dad?'' Henry asks all confused. He sneaked out of the hotel room where he had waited impatiently for his mother to return, and he now walks up towards his parents who are clearly in an intimate embrace.

Neal and Emma pull back the second they hear their son's voice. ''Henry! How long have you been standing there?'' asks the blonde with a guilty expression. Caught by her own son, how humiliating.

As the boy sees his parents expression, he can't help but laugh. These expressions are simply priceless. ''Long enough!'' he cries.

''Henry, get back to our room,'' demands Emma. Her face is flushed, which makes the situation even more hilarious for the boy.

''Fine, fine,'' he replies, but he can't suppress a fit of laughter when he walks back towards their hotel room.

''That was so wrong Neal, that was just so wrong! What the hell did we do?'' cries Emma as soon as her son has gone out of sight.

''It was inappropriate yes I agree, but was it wrong?'' he asks. Seeing the panicked look on Emma's face makes him smile.

''Why are you laughing? Seriously, this is all so wrong!'' she repeats. ''You're going to get married for crying out loud!''

The smile disappears from his face as soon as it came. ''That's the plan yes. But Emma, you have to know that I never stopped loving you. I still think about you every day. That's not a lie.''

''Okay, this is all just too much for me.'' With firm steps the blonde walks back towards their hotel room.

''Please Emma, don't run away. Don't run away like you always do. Listen to me. I'm going to fix this.''

The blonde stops and turns around. ''Yeah, and how're you planning to do that exactly? Neal, when you're coming with us to Storybrooke, we're near each other every. Single. Day. While your fiancé is here in New York, waiting for you to come back. So that you can marry her and live a _fake _happy life together. Where does that leave us Neal? And Henry? He will be devastated if you decide to return to her and leave him without a father. Again. Have you thought about that? Me knowing that you still love me, and what we just did is just.. is just…'' Tears are running over her face again.

''Em, please.'' He takes both of her hands and takes a deep breath. ''This is what I'm going to do. I'm going home now and end things with Tamara. Period. You're right, I can't just come with you guys to Storybrooke and leave it here the way it is now. That wouldn't be fair. Not to you, and not to Tamara.''

''Are you serious about this? I mean, don't you need more time to think this through? I don't want you to make an abrupt decision based on a _kiss.''_

''It's not based on just a kiss Emma. The minute I saw you here, I knew it. I knew I still loved you, even after all these years. And learning about me having a son… That is enough for me.''

The blonde sighs. ''Okay than. But just if you're absolutely sure about it?''

''I'm a 200% certain,'' he grins. ´´I´ll be back tonight.´´ He gives Emma a quick kiss on the cheek before he walks up to the elevator.

´´Good luck,´´ whispers Emma as she watches him enter the elevator. When the doors close, she returns to the hotel room, where Henry is eagerly waiting.

´´Does this mean that you and dad are back together again?'' he asks the second she walks in. His eyes are wide with enthusiasm.

They both sit down on the bed. ''Henry, what you saw earlier was… Well it's not all that easy. We still have a lot to work out. So don't get all too excited about it, okay?''

''Okay, but there is a chance right?'' he asks again hopeful this time.

''Henry!'' She tries to sound strict, but she can't help a fit of laughter escaping her.

They both laugh now in an unstoppable pace.

Emma let herself fall backwards on the bed as her body shakes from all the laughter. ''What a mess we're in, what're we going to do?'' she says between her laughs. The whole situation is actually quite worrying, but at this point she can only laugh it all off.

Henry is happy to see her smiling again.

But then they both are startled by a loud noise coming from one of the rooms on their floor. A loud bang is followed by shouting voices of men.

''Stay here!'' yells Emma to Henry, as she directly recognizes the voices she hears. She runs out of the room, leaving Henry in uncertainty. When she storms into Mr Gold's room, where the door was slightly open, she sees Hook standing over Gold, who is now lying against one of the chairs.

The captain's hook is penetrating deep in the other man's chest, right where the heart is located.

Emma seeks for something to attack the captain with as soon as she can. The standing lamp in the corner is the first object she can find that is possibly heavy enough to hit him with. She lashes out and hits the captain on the back of his head.

Hook falls backwards and passes out on the floor.

Emma rushes to Mr Gold. ''Are you okay?'' she asks, looking at the gaping wound that is visible on his chest. A yellowish substance comes dripping out, mixed with his own blood. ''What the hell is that?'' she asks disgusted.

''It's poison,'' he answers, his breathing fast and uncontrolled.

''I've to get you out of here,'' do you think you're able to walk when I support you?

Gold leans on the blonde when he tries to get up.

Emma needs all her strength to get him to stand up and to lead him out of his room, into hers. She lays him down on the bed.

Henry looks frightened at the whole situation. ''What happened?''

''Henry I need you to stay here with Mr Gold for a bit okay? He's going to be fine. I just need to call Neal.'' She takes her mobile phone that is lying on the nightstand and walks out of the room.

''Mr Gold, what happened?'' asks the boy again. He sits down on the side of the bed.

Suddenly the man grabs Henry's arm and hisses: ''You stay away from me! This is all your fault Henry. You caused this. You brought us back here.'' He let's go of his arm and Henry walks back a few steps, looking at the man in disbelief.

* * *

**I hear you guys asking: ''How did Hook get out of the hospital?'' Well that question will be answered in one of the next chapters, I promise. ;)**

**So what do you guys think? Is it all plausible, Neal deciding to leave Tamara, and the kiss and all? Please leave a review, I would really appreciate that! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm so sorry for this late update. I'm afraid I suffered from a minor writer's block or something.. xD But I'm back. ;) I hope that the fact that this chapter is slightly longer than the previous ones make up for it. Thank you for bearing with me, and don't forget to review! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, just this profile ;)**

* * *

Henry is completely in shock after Mr Gold's threat directed towards him. But there is no time to overthink the situation, as Emma already walks back into the room.

''Neal is on his way here,'' she says. She casts a worried glance first at Mr Gold and then at Henry, who's hands are trembling as he tries to hide them behind his back. His mother notices this, and walks over to him. ''What's wrong?'' she asks.

The boy quickly shakes his head. ''Nothing,'' he promptly says.

Mr Gold seems completely distracted, suffering from immense pains going through his whole body.

Emma gets over to the bathroom to get a cold, wet towel and she softly pats Gold's head with it, not sure what else she can do to help the man.

Gold tries to sit up a bit against the headboard.

Emma assists him, pulling up the pillow behind his back.

''Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?'' he asks her, while he breaths fast.

''Cause you are Henry's grandfather,'' she simply answers, continuing to pat his head with the towel.

At that moment, they are all startled by a knock on the door.

Henry walks over and answers, glad to see his dad standing in front of the door.

Neal takes a second to take in the situation and ruffles his son's hair. ''What happened?'' He asks Emma as he shoots a worried look at his father.

''Hook happened,'' replies the blonde. ''He barged in your father's hotel room and attacked him. It's poison,'' she explains as she sees Neal looking at the gaping wound, where the yellow substance is still dripping out from.

''But how? What? I don't understand…'' stumbles Neal.

Mr Gold suddenly takes his son's hand. ''We've to get back to Storybrooke. Now. There is magic there. That's the only way to save me.''

''I'll, I'll arrange a car to drive us,'' replies the other man, grasping on to his father's hand.

''There is no time. We need something faster. We need Hook's ship,'' determines Gold.

''Wait, you think his ship is here? In New York?'' asks Emma as she frowns an eyebrow.

But there is no time to answer that question, cause the blondes' phone starts to ring loudly. ''David?'' she asks as she walks out of the room.

''Emma, we have some situations here. First of all, Hook escaped.''

''Yes I'm aware of that,'' she replies sarcastically. ''He's here…''

''In New York? Emma are you alright? Is Henry alright? Did he hurt any of you?''

Her father's concern is touching and gives her a warm feeling inside. She still isn't quite used to the fact that there are people now that care about her. ''We're both fine. I knocked him out actually. Speaking about that, I think we should move him. He's now lying in a hotel room, and I don't think that the hotel staff particularly appreciates the fact that there is an unconscious captain in one of their suites. But David, how the hell could he get away? You had all these people watching him right? What happened?''

''Let's just say that in two minutes when someone needs to go to the bathroom, a captain can manage a lot. Apparently he wasn't as sick anymore as we all thought…''

''Well great, so now he's here and he poisoned Mr Gold.''

''He did what?''

''Yeah, I also didn't see that twist in the story coming, but apparently his hook is dipped in some sort of poison. Which means, we have to get Gold back to Storybrooke as soon as possible. That's the only way to save him. Latest that I heard is that Hook's ship is here and we need to use it to get back.''

''Do you know how to sail a pirate ship?'' asks her father with a little tone of sarcasm shining through.

''No I don't… I actually have no idea how we're going to manage that,'' sighs Emma when she comes to think about it. She turns around when she feels a hand on her shoulder.

''Em, we really have to go,'' says Neal.

''Neal, how do we ever getting that ship sailed back to Storybrooke?''

''Don't worry about that, I can sail a ship.''

''Where did you learn that?'' the blonde asks wary.

''Just trust me, okay?'' is his reply.

Emma sends him a questioning look and picks up her phone again. ''David, are you still there? I really have to go now. We will see you soon!''

''Okay Emma. Please, be careful.''

''I will. Say 'hi' to Mary from me, will you?''

''Of course. I love you Emma. Be safe.''

''Yes, me too. Bye!'' she quickly replies. The three simple words that her parents say to her like it's the most natural thing in the world, are still difficult for her. Deep inside, she knows that she desperately wants to say these words out loud to her parents, because love is what she's starting to feel for them, but there is still something holding her back.

* * *

After three hours they finally arrive back safely in Storybrooke. The place that Emma feels like it's her home by now.

Neal and Emma both have managed to drag the captain into an empty room in the hotel. There was no furniture or anything in that place, and dust had piled up like it had been gathering for years, indicating that probably no one ever uses the room, or even enters it. Luckily, as the move of the captain took place right in between the time that people checked out and that the cleaning staff entered their floor, it all happened unnoticed.

Neal didn't have the time to inform his fiancé about the sudden journey, so Emma is a bit wary of the woman's response and what her next move will be. Whatever it is, it can't be good…

Henry is the first one leaving the ship. He runs into Snow's and Charming's arms, as they have been waiting on their family to return.

''Oh Henry, are you alright? Is everything okay?'' cries the brunette as her eyes inspect him from top to bottom. As she is convinced that the boy is physically fine, she holds him in a tight hug, almost pressing the air out of the boy's lungs.

Charming squeezes Henry's shoulder softly. ''Welcome home buddy!'' He then walks over to the ship, where he helps Emma and Neal supporting Gold. They carry the shop owner into Charming's car and let him rest. ''How is he?'' asks the prince to his daughter. He casts a suspicious glance at Neal.

''Not good. It's getting worse with the minute,'' is his daughter's reply. ''And hi David,'' she quickly adds, embracing her father.

''Hi Emma,'' Charming answers, a bit taken aback by the sudden move of his daughter. He hugs her back.

Snow joins them and sighs. ''I'm so glad you're back home safe.'' She kisses Emma on the cheek.

The blonde, suddenly feels very self-conscious, and pulls herself away from the embrace with her parents.

Neal has taken a step back out of respect, and is now waiting for Emma to say something.

''David, Mary, this is Neal. Henry's father,'' she adds.

They all nod at each other, not sure what else to do.

''I think we should get going. We need to find a way to save your father,'' Emma says to Neal. ''Let's go to our apartment, that's probably the most comfortable for him now.''

* * *

When they arrive at the apartment, they help Mr Gold get on the couch.

''Emma, there is something else Mary Margaret and I need to talk to you about,'' says Charming. He signs that they both need to come with him to another room.

Neal stays with his father and Henry went quietly upstairs to unpack his bags. But her son's silence still doesn't feel right to Emma. The boy almost didn't say a single word on their way over here, while mostly she's the one who has to temper the flow of words that comes out of him. She decides to check up on him later.

When the three of them are in Charming's and Snow's bedroom, Charming explains: ''something happened with Belle while you were away. She and Greg both went missing all of a sudden, so we assumed he either kidnapped her, or she went with him voluntarily. Anyway, she came back to Storybrooke with Greg's car. She hit it against a tree.''

''Is she all right?'' asks the blonde worried.

''Physically yes, she only had a minor head injury and the doctors were able to stitch that. For the rest she is fine. But, the weird thing is, she seems like this completely different person. She went completely mental when we called her Belle, and she kept repeating that her name is Lacey. She acted so…'' he can't find the right word for it.

''Aggressive,'' helps his wife.

''Yes, I suppose aggressive is the proper word to use.''

''But what do you mean? Does she have her memories back?'' asks Emma.

''I think the crash did trigger something, but not the memories of Belle,'' explains her mother.

It starts to make sense for the blonde now. ''You think she has her memories back of her Storybrooke identity?''

Their parents both nod at the same time.

''But are you guys sure you've never seen her in town before? I mean, did Regina kept her imprisoned for 28 years in the hospital?''

''That is what we initially thought, because no one remembers her here. But it seems she still was given this other identity, a curse-identity,'' says Charming.

''And well, let's say… it's very different from Belle's,'' continues his wife.

''Where is she now?'' asks Emma, not wanting to waste any more time.

'''She's staying overnight in the hospital. She wasn't fully recovered yet when she left the hospital in the first place, so they want to keep her another night. She probably can stay at Granny's bed & breakfast from tomorrow on.''

''And does she remember anything from what happened with Greg?''

''No, she claims she never even heard his name before.''

''Perfect… So how are we going to bring this to Mr Gold?'' asks the blonde.

''First things first. We need to find a way to save him, otherwise there's no way that he ever can go back to Belle, or Lacey, or whoever she is,'' replies Charming.

They all go back to the living room where Neal is sitting with his father. He sits down in one of the armchairs and holds the other man's hand. ''My father has a plan,'' he explains.

Emma notices that Neal's eyes are watery. She wonders what just had happened between Gold and his son, when she and her parents had their private conversation.

''There is this flower. The Moonlight flower. It only grows during the night and has healing properties,'' explains Neal.

His father continues. ''I still have one flower seed somewhere in my shop. Kept it for a rainy day. You need to get it, and plant it at midnight in the woods. It has to be exactly 12:00am, otherwise it won't work. Sprinkle it with water and it should grow within an hour. When it's ready, you need to cut off the petals and bring these to me. That is what will save me.''

Snow sees that her daughter is completely exhausted. ''Me and Charming can go,'' she suggests.

''No!'' cries Gold. ''It's Emma who needs to do it.''

''Why me?''

''Because you have the magic necessary for this to work. It should be you.''

''Then I'm going with her!'' insists Snow. ''I'm not letting you go all by yourself.''

''I'll be fine Mary. I just need to plant a flower, that's all. How hard can it be?''

''It's not that that I'm worried about whether you can do it or not, I'm worried about who you might bump into on your way.''

''What do you mean?''

''When Red and I were searching for Belle, we ran into Regina. I'm sure she's working on a plan together with her mother.''

''Wait, and you didn't tell me this until now?'' cries Charming while he looks a bit offended.

''Well, everything was happening so fast, and I just didn't find the time to tell you yet,'' she defends herself.

''Okay, calm down guys. It's fine, you can come with me Mary.'' Emma glances at the clock above the sideboard. ''It's 8:00pm now, so that means we still have a couple of hours to get the flower seed and go to the woods.'' She turns around and walks up the stairs.

''Where're you going?'' asks Charming. But he only gets silence as a response.

* * *

Emma knocks on the door. ''Can I come in?'' she asks.

''Yes,'' is her son's short answer.

When she opens the door, she sees Henry lying on his bed, staring into nowhere with the book of fairytales clamped in his arms. Sometimes she forgets that he's only eleven years old. He always acts like an adult around her and his grandparents. But seeing him like this makes her realize that he still is a child. Sweet and innocent. She softly strokes his arm. ''Hey kid, what's wrong?''

''He blames me.'' He's still staring into the distance.

''What?''

''He blames me,'' he only says again.

''Who blames you Henry? And for what?'' She forces her son to look at her. It hurts her seeing him like this.

A deep sigh escapes from his mouth before he finally tells her. ''Mr Gold blamed me for what happened to him. He said that I brought him to New York, and that this is all my fault.''

''But Henry, that makes no sense… at all! Why would he say such things to you?''

''Because I'm the one who brought you here of course!'' he cries out. ''And because of you, the curse is broken, and that's why magic came back. That is what sent you and grandma back to the Enchanted Forest, and brought Cora and Hook back here… It all started with me. If it wasn't for me, Hook wouldn't be here and he couldn't have hurt Mr Gold.''

''Henry listen to me, none of this is your fault! Do you hear me? None of it! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have been together, as a family. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. And… you found me.'' Emma's voice breaks.

Henry sits up and wraps his arms tightly around his mother. ''Yes that's what we do in this family,'' he says with a watery smile.

Emma's glad that her son has got his sense of humor back. ''I'm sure it was only the pain talking when Mr Gold said these things,'' she says when she answers the hug with all the love she has in her body.

The boy pulls back, not completely convinced, but not wanting to think about it anymore. ''That first evening in New York... I want you to know that I really liked that.''

''Me too Henry, me too. Hey kid, don't worry about it okay?'' Emma is desperately trying to blink away the tears that are surfacing. She doesn't want her son to see her being vulnerable. Instead she focuses on the matter at hand. ''Henry, me and your grandmother have to leave for a couple of hours. There's a way to save Mr Gold, and Mary Margaret is going to help me do that. You stay with David and Neal, okay? I promise we'll be back in the morning. So if you just get some sleep, we'll be back as soon as you wake up.''

''Can't I come with you?'' the boy asks. His mother and grandmother leaving again doesn't feel good at all. He just wants them all to be together. This reminds him too much of when Emma and Snow were in the Enchanted Forest.

''No I'm sorry, that's really not going to happen this time. It's just too dangerous. But you know what, if you put on your pajamas now, I will sit with you until you fall asleep. Then you will not even notice that Mary and I are away. How does that sound?''

Henry mumbles an unintelligible word of disagreement, but still does what his mother has asked him to do.

Emma sits with her son until his eyes fall close. She could just sit there and stare at him the whole night if it would be possible. She never had expected to be able to feel so much love for someone. But her son showed her that it is possible to feel this unconditional love for a person, and she would always be grateful for that. She absently strokes Henry's arm.

The blonde is so focused on her son, that she didn't notice Snow quietly entering the bedroom.

Without realizing, mother and daughter go through the exact same emotions right now. Emma is completely focused on Henry, and Snow on her daughter. It is that Snow notices that it's getting late already, otherwise she could've stand there the whole night, watching her daughter and grandson, peacefully next to each other. She gently brushes her daughter's arm and points at the alarm clock that is standing on the nightstand.

The blonde nods understandingly and places a gentle goodnight kiss on her son's forehead. She then gets up and follows her mother outside, with casting one last look over her shoulder to her sleeping son.

When Emma and Snow are putting on their jackets, a low voice rises from the couch. ''You know where you can find the flower seed right?'' asks Gold to Snow. The man is clearly in pain, as he bites his teeth and his hands are fists.

''Yes I do,'' nods Snow. She looks at her husband and then at her daughter. ''Are you ready?'' she asks.

''Almost.'' The blonde walks towards Gold and hisses: ''you are a lucky man. I actually should have let you suffer and die. Don't you dare to express these kind of threats to my son ever again. Do you understand?!''

The whole room becomes completely silent. Her parents and Neal are all staring at Emma in bewilderment. They have no idea what this is all about. Only Gold continues to look straight to Emma with piercing eyes.

The blonde shakes her head and her attention shifts to Charming. ''David, watch Henry for me will you? Don't leave him out of your sight for even a second.'' She trusts her father on this moment better to take care of her son than Neal.

Neal did notice the hidden meaning of her words and looks down, not sure what to say.

''I will Emma, I promise,'' says Charming as he gently kisses her cheek. He then turns to his wife and places a soft kiss on her lips. ''Be careful the two of you. I want you both back home safe.''

''How hard can planting a flower seed be?'' grins Emma bravely. But in the back of her mind there are maybe a thousand things spooking around that possibly can go wrong.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay guys, the following chapter is one that I'm doubting about enormously. Let's just say it's different from the previous ones. I really, really hope that you still like the fic after reading this. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review. Much appreciated. Okay, keeping my fingers crossed for this one... **

* * *

The streets of Storybrooke are completely abandoned when Emma and Snow walk through the little fishing town. The evening chill makes the blonde pull her scarf a little tighter and she puts her hands in her pockets.

It only takes mother and daughter a few minutes before they arrive at Mr Gold's pawnshop.

Snow takes out the key she'd been given and opens the door to the shop. It's awfully dark inside. She tries to find the light switch and turns on the light.

''So, where is that magical flower seed, Gold was talking about?'' asks Emma.

''It's in the back of the shop. He saved it in this safety box, that's engraved with his signature.''

''Well good luck finding that,'' says Emma as they see the enormous collection of… yes well, what is it all exactly? She arches an eyebrow, but starts searching, aware of the fact that they don't have that much time.

Snow seems to have more success and finds the object they're looking for in no-time. She takes out another key from her pocket and opens it.

Emma joins her mother and the two of them look inside. ''It looks just like an ordinary flower seed, doesn't it?'' she asks.

Snow nods. ''Yes it does, but believe me, it's not…'' she stares at the content of the box and takes a deep breath.

''You've seen it before?'' asks the blonde.

''We had plenty of them when I was little, back in the Enchanted forest. These flowers comprises the strongest healing properties in all the lands. Of course there was not enough to save everyone that was ill at the time, but it saved so many lives. And then… one day… '' She seems to struggle with what she's going to say. ''It was just gone… There was this well-maintained Moonflower field, and every night the gardeners of the kingdom would plant new flowers, which they cut in the early morning. But one night, they couldn't get the plants to grow anymore. There was nothing that could be done. They really tried everything.''

''Do you think it was foul play?'' asks the blonde.

''Yes I do, you know why? It was the night that my mother, the queen, passed away.'' She swallows back the tears that start to come up and makes her way to the door again. ''We have to keep going,'' she says.

Emma glances a worried look at her mother, but doesn't really know what to say. She feels sorry for her, cause she had to miss her mother from such an early age.

There are so many stories that are not in the book of fairytales, that Emma really wants to hear about. When the curse was broken, she tried to stay as far away from the truth as possible, but now that reality has had time to settle in, she's craving for more information about the lives their parents had lived back in the Enchanted Forest. She wants to know where she comes from, to be able to fill in all the gaps. 'Normal' parents have years to share their backstories with their children, and they can share little pieces of the puzzle at the time, but Emma missed out on any of that. It makes her feel kind of rushed to learn more about her family.

They walk in silence to the forest, both lost in thoughts.

It is then that Snow breaks the silence. ''What was that about? With Gold I mean?''

Emma explains her mother what Henry had told her earlier that evening.

The brunette looks as shocked as Emma felt when she heard it. ''Why would he say such things? That's horrible.''

''I really have no idea why he said that. I think you can understand why I snapped at him?''

''You were too nice to him, is what I think!'' her mother exclaims. ''If he would've said these things to you, I don't think I could stay as calm as you did… '' ''Is Henry all right?''

''I think so… I'm not sure. I talked to him, told him that nothing of this was his fault, and that he was actually the hero in the whole story. But I'm not sure if he bought it.''

Snow takes her daughter's hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. She doesn't have to say anything, just being there and showing her support is enough for the blonde.

The walk is quite far. The open space in the woods is almost at the town border, and unreachable by car. The brunette knows the forest like the back of her hand and she doesn't show any doubts when they find their way through the dark woods. ''This is it,'' she points as they've reached some sort of meadow in the middle of the forest.

''What time is it?''

''Almost midnight. I suggest we start making a hole in the ground and put the seed in. When the clock strikes twelve, we can close it, and water it.''

''Sounds like a plan to me.'' The blonde starts digging a little hole in the muddy ground and takes the flower seed from her mother. She carefully places it in the ground.

Snow keeps her eyes fixated on her phone. ''Ten seconds before midnight,'' she announces and counts down to zero.

Precisely at that moment, Emma closes the hole and uses a bottle of water to water the seed. ''Now we just have to wait right?'' she asks when she looks up to face her mother.

''Yes.'' The brunette takes out a plaid from the bag she's been carrying around with her, and settles down on the grass.

Emma joins her and pulls her knees up to her chest.

They both sit there in silence, when Emma suddenly starts to shiver from the cold.

Snow gently places the plaid over her daughters' shoulders and rubs her back to get her warmed up.

''We kissed…'' the blonde suddenly whispers.

''What?'' asks her mother in a friendly tone.

''Neal and I. We kissed. He has a _fiancé _Mary.'' She doesn't dare to face her mother, so she keeps on looking straight forward and moves away from her mother's touch.

''Oh Emma. I really don't know what to say. I'm not the best example for these kind of situations either, I'm afraid.'' Her memories take her back to last year, when she and David had this complicated relationship going on while he was still married to Kathryn. It was not even a real relationship actually. ''Do you still have feelings for him?'' she then asks, as it is the only question she can come up with.

''I don't know… At first, I was just furious with him. Because he betrayed me. Because he was just another one of these people who I had let in and started to trust, but who let me down as suddenly as that. It was from that point on that I decided that I wouldn't trust a single person anymore in this world.'' A sigh escapes her mouth before she continues. ''But then, at the hotel, I don't know what came over me. It felt like my body was taken over by someone else, and that I didn't have control over it anymore. And when we kissed… It felt good Mary. It felt right.''

''What did he say about it?'' asks Snow.

''He's even willing to break up with his fiancé for me. That's what he said. But then of course that situation with Gold and Hook happened, so there was no time for him to talk to her. I don't know Mary, it all just goes so fast. I don't know what to do.'' She turns her head to her mother and looks hopeful at her, like her mother has the answer.

Snow opens her mouth to say something, but closes it again, as they hear a rustle coming from their right. She grabs her daughter's hand and they both get up at the same time, ready to face whatever is out there. A twig snaps underneath one of the footsteps they hear.

Two dark silhouettes appear from behind a bushy part of the forest. The unrecognizable shapes take form as they're getting closer.

''Well, well, well, look who we have here, mother and daughter,'' sounds a sarcastic, but an all too familiar voice.

''Cora,'' hisses Snow.

''Yes, and I brought my daughter too, see?'' she replies as she looks proudly at Regina.

''What are you two doing here?'' asks Emma in a dark voice.

''We were just making a nightly stroll through the forest, and we heard voices, so we thought we should take a look. And here you are!'' she grins.

''Cut the crap, why are you really here?'' the blonde asks again.

''We are here… for your mother,'' answers Regina.

In a reflex, Emma jumps in front of Snow as Regina pulls up her arm and throws it forward. The blonde flies through the air and smashes against a tree behind them. She lies completely still after the blast.

''Emma!'' yells Snow completely in panic as she witnesses her daughter being hit against a tree. The sound that that makes is earsplitting. She runs up to the blonde and gently strokes away some strands of hair from her face to be able to see if the woman is conscious or not.

''Foolish girl!'' cries Cora with a smile as wide as the one of the Cheshire Cat. '''Didn't you learn anything back in the Enchanted Forest? What a shame!''

''Emma, please wake up! Cries Snow as she gently shakes her daughter's body. ''Emma, please!''

''Lovely sight, isn't? The suffering of a powerless mother when her child is wounded,'' asks Cora to her daughter as they both watch the spectacle taking place in front of them. ''Especially when that mother is Snow White, the girl who've always got everything she wanted in life. Well that's over my dear. You have ruined my daughter's life, and now we are going to ruin yours.''

Regina nods agreeing and smirks. ''I've waited for this moment for so long mother. To finally end Snow White's life.''

They both keep on watching and clearly enjoy Snow's suffering.

Emma is still lying motionless on the muddy ground while her mother is desperately trying to wake her. Snow feels that her daughter still has a pulse, and the woman's chest moves with every breath, which is a slight relieve. But the sight of her strong daughter lying there so lifelessness, is devastating. The sound of Emma's head hitting the tree still echoes in her head over and over again.

Cora finally breaks the silence. ''How much I've enjoyed the show, it's time to do where we came for, don't you think? The honor is yours,'' she says to her daughter.

''Thank you mother.''

Emma slowly opens her eyes and she sees her mother leaned over her. A stabbing pain is pounding in her head.

Snow is sitting with her back turned to Cora and Regina, and is completely focused on her daughter. She only vaguely heard the sneering comments made to her by Cora and Regina. At that moment, she feels a strong force, launching her body up in the air. It's like invisible ropes have a grip on her, and she hangs high up in the air, not able to escape.

''Let her go,'' says Emma, but her voice is not more than a whisper. She tries to get up, but the headache makes her dizzy and she sees stars. She sits on her hands and knees, and bends her head forward. ''Let her go!'' she cries, louder this time.

''Whatever you wish,'' says Regina and she makes another movement with her arms, resulting in Snow being smashed into a tree.

''No!'' yells Emma. She runs up to her mother and is shocked to see the brunette lying there. There is a large gaping wound on the woman's head, blood flooding out quickly. Emma quickly tears a piece of fabric from her t-shirt and presses it against the wound, to make the bleeding stop. A sudden flow of anger runs through her body, and she looks up to their attackers.

''Oh no, we're not done dear,'' smirks Cora. ''We're just getting started.'' She summons an oblong object in her hand and points it at Snow and Emma. ''You better move away, this is going to be nasty,'' she sneers to the blonde.

''Never!'' Emma yells back and she makes sure that she's positioned right in front of her mother, so that they can't hit her.

''Really?'' sighs Regina as she pulls up her hand again and let Emma fly up in the air, just as she did to Snow earlier. ''You still don't get it, do you? There is nothing you can do to save your _precious _mother.''

''Are there any last words you want to say to her before she dies?'' asks Cora amused.

''Stop!'' cries Emma as she tries with all her might to free herself from the grip the invisible ropes have on her. With no luck of course. Anger is building up in her body in a way she has never felt before. She's just getting to know her mother, she is as hell not losing her again. She is not going to let this happen.

A sudden wind rises up and makes the branches of the trees sweep threatening when Cora uses her weapon on Snow.

Emma sees a shockwave going through her mother, as the woman's body is shaking intensively. ''No! Stop!'' she yells again as she stares down hopelessly to the lifeless body of Snow on the ground. An indescribable amount of anger combined with fear runs through every vein of her body, and there is nothing that can stop the enormous adrenaline rush that seems to take over. She has never experienced anything like this before.

Cora hands the magical object to her daughter. ''You can finish it,'' she says ominous.

Gratefully, Regina takes the weapon from her mother, aims it at Snow, and uses her other hand to remain the control over Emma's body.

Another shockwave runs through Snow, longer this time.

''No!'' cries Emma, while tears are running down her face.

''Let's do it together,'' suggests Cora to Regina.

Her daughter nods understandingly.

Cora and Regina both create a ball of fire in their hands and combine them, until it becomes one. A deadly weapon has been created by the two most vengeful women in the world. They raise their arms at the same time and throw the ball of fire towards Snow.

A final cry of despair escapes from Emma's mouth and she closes her eyes. She doesn't want to see her mother dying in such a gruesome way. It is then that the adrenaline rush that has been building up over the last minutes becomes unbearable. Something is breaking out of her body, she can feel it. A glaring light suddenly radiates from Emma, and an immense scream wells up from deep inside. Her eyes open wide and she witnesses the ball of fire that was only inches away from her dying mother, now wheeling around, making its way back to the original senders.

Regina jumps away just in time to avoid the killer weapon that is speeding towards her and her mother.

Cora on the other hand isn't fast enough and the ball of fire hits her completely, launching her back a few meters before she hits the ground. Her body absorbs the fire and her eyes show the agony and immense pain that she's experiencing.

''Mother, what is happening?!'' cries Regina as she's trying to comprehend everything that has happened in that split second. She has lost the control over Emma's body as soon as she jumped aside, and the blonde fell hard on the ground.

Cora is screaming intensely as all of her organs are caught on fire. It's a horrible way to die, but the ironic thing is that she's dying from her and her daughter's own creation.

''Mother no!'' Regina crawls up to Cora and takes her cramped form in her arms. ''Mother,'' she whispers again as she's crying ceaselessly.

The excruciating pain that Cora has felt, abruptly makes place for a numb sensation and a sudden feeling of calmness. 'So this is how it feels to die?' she thinks in herself. With all of the remaining power she has in her body, she turns her head to look up to her daughter. ''I love you,'' she whispers.

''I love you too mother. Please don't leave me!''

But the last bit of life that was visible in Cora's eyes slowly fades away until there is nothing more than darkness.

Regina bends over Cora's lifeless body and cries with unstoppable and painful sobs. She glances a last look over her shoulder to Emma and Snow, before she disappears in a purple haze together with her dead mother.

* * *

**I was intrigued by the idea of what would happen when the whole situation was turned around, so when not Snow, but Emma would've killed Cora. How will Regina react to that, Emma's family, and maybe most important of all, how would Emma deal with it? **

**Thank you so much again for reading, and I promise more Charming family coming up in the next few chapters. By the way, if you have any requests for this fic, please let me know and I try to find a way to fit it in :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you so much for your all of your reviews and suggestions! I hope you will enjoy this chapter as much as the previous one! :)**

* * *

''Mary Margaret, please wake up. Please wake up. You can't leave me! Do you hear me! Don't you dare leaving me! Not again!'' Emma has crawled over to her mother and grasps onto the woman's clothing like that is the only way to keep her mother alive, to bring her back. ''Wake up! Don't leave me!'' she yells again. Her whole body is full of bruises, but that is not why she's aching. No, she's aching because of the deeply rooted fear of losing her mother again.

She finally collapses and buries her tear stained face in Snow's neck. She sobs until her throat hurts. Then there is silence. The physical strength that was needed for Emma to be able to perform magic, together with the emotional pain is too much for her body to bear. She goes into shock. She is just sitting on her hands and knees, staring with an empty glance into the distance. Her brain is completely shut off from the outside world.

''Emma?!'' cries a male voice from the distance.

Footsteps are quickly running up to the blonde, and strong arms are being wrapped around her, but she doesn't notices any of this.

''Emma? Can you hear me? Emma?''

''Mom?'' another voice.

''David I think she went into shock,'' says Neal anxiously.

Charming knelt down next to his wife and now shifts his attention from Snow who is still lying motionless on the ground, to his daughter. ''Emma? Emma, can you hear me? Please say something darling!'' When Snow starts to cough, his eyes shoot back at her.

The brunette coughs up little amounts of blood, but stays unconscious.

''Snow?!'' cries Charming.

Neal feels he's the one who has to be the strongest in this situation. He looks at Henry. ''Can I get the bottle of water you've in your backpack?'' he requests. He tries to look as calm as possible, as the boy looks at the scene like he has seen a ghost. He doesn't want to upset Henry any more than necessary. ''Thank you,'' he says as Henry hands him the bottle of water. He unscrews the cap and pours a little bit of water on his hands before he sprinkles the blonde's head and neck with the cold liquid. ''You've to take your wife to the hospital,'' he says to Charming. ''Henry and I will catch up with you later. We'll take care of Emma, don't worry about that. She'll be fine,'' he quickly adds when he sees the worried expression of the blonde's father. ''Please, go!''

Charming seems to snap out of his frozen position and comes into action. He gently lifts Snow's lifeless body into his arms, casts a last glance to his daughter, and disappears in the darkness of the forest.

Neal is still sitting behind Emma and supports her body from falling down to the ground. He continues to sprinkle the cold water on her face and neck, and repeats her name over and over.

Henry is nailed to the ground, not able to speak or move for that matter.

Slowly, Emma seems to regain consciousness as the empty glance turns into a glance of pain.

''Em?'' Neal asks again. ''Are you back with us?''

The blonde's head slowly turns around and when she sees who's holding her, she doesn't even seem surprised. ''What happened?'' she whispers with a hoarse voice. She notices her son standing behind Neal. '''Hey kid. What are you guys doing here? What happened?'' she asks confused, shooting her eyes from one to the other. She is still quite groggy when she turns back around and stares at the spot where Snow was lying only some minutes ago. It all hits her again. ''Where's Mary Margaret?!'' she cries out when she realizes her mother is missing. ''I've to help her! She's hurt!'' She tries to get up, but her body is too weakened and makes her collapse back to the ground.

''Hey, easy there,'' says Neal in a soothing voice as he catches her before she hits the forest floor. ''Your father took her to the hospital.'' he explains.

''Regina… Cora… Where… God, what did I do?!'' Emma's eyes grow wide in disbelieve and terror as all of the events from earlier that night return to her. She shoots her head from left to right, which only affirms her fearful suspicion, that mother and daughter are gone. Emma wishes it had all been a bad dream. An awful nightmare, but she realizes that all the memories that are surfacing at the moment represent the terrifying truth. ''What did I do?!'' she repeats.

''Ssst, it's okay,'' reassures Neal, as he holds her gently.

''What did I do? What did I do?'' she keeps repeating over and over, with her body swinging forwards and backwards while she has her arms crossed in front of her.

''Em. Em, calm down! Look at me. Look at me!'' he demands. He moves himself in front of her and grabs her by her shoulders, forcing the blonde to look up to him. When she does, she doesn't look him right in the eye, but at a rock that's right beside him. But that's good enough for him. At least she has stopped moving, a motion that scared him. He gently brushes some strands of hair from her face before he starts speaking. ''Emma, it will be all right. I promise you. Just calm down okay? Can you tell me what happened?''

''We were just… we were just waiting for that stupid flower to grow, when Regina and Ccc…ora showed up,'' she stutters, almost unable to say the name 'Cora' out loud. A cold shiver is running down her spine.

Henry notices his mother's anxiety and gets over to her, sits down and wraps his arms around her. ''It's okay mom, you don't have to tell us what happened if you're not ready for it.''

''No I… I have to…'' she mumbles.

Neal places his hand on his son's shoulder. ''No, Henry is right Em, you don't have to tell us yet. I'm sorry I asked. I wasn't thinking.''

The three of them sit there in silence. It almost resembles a cozy family picnic, wouldn't it be for the fact that it is the middle of the night. Not a time that families enjoy a lovely picnic in the woods.

When Neal breaks the silence, a beam of sunlight has appeared through the trees, shining a mysterious light on the trio. ''Come on, we need to get you to the hospital.'' It's more of a question in the rhetorical category, but he expects a counteract of some kind from the blonde, like the statement that she is fine, that she doesn't need to go to the hospital or how rude it was of him to just assume things, without even asking her. The stuff she always used to say to him. Cause she wanted to show the world that she can do it all by herself, that she doesn't need help from anyone.

How surprised he is then, when Emma just skips the going-into-discussion part, and even let him help her getting up. She puts one arm on his shoulders for support and he uses his right arm to support her lower back. ''Are you okay to walk like this?'' he asks her.

She nods silently.

''Okay, Henry can you get some petals from the flower?'' he points.

The boy opens the pocket of his jacket and shows his father a dozen of beautiful, bright-red flower petals. ''Already done,'' he says proudly.

''Good job buddy!'' is the cheerful reply.

With a slow pace, the three of them walk back to civilization, pausing occasionally to let Emma catch her breath. When they arrive at the outskirts of the forest, an ambulance is already waiting for them. A paramedic helps Emma get onto the stretcher. ''Your father announced that you needed help,'' he explains to the blonde and her family members. ''We couldn't get further into the woods, so we waited here for you.''

Emma undergoes all the preliminary check-ups passively before she is taken to the hospital.

* * *

''I refuse to stay a minute longer in this hell hole!'' screams Belle, or Lacey, as she jumps off the bed. ''Can someone get me my clothes?'' she yells, trying to get the attention of the nurses.

''B… Lacey, please calm down. The doctors said that it was better for you to stay here for one more night. You had a serious accident, not to mention that you weren't fully recovered when you left here in the first place,'' begs Red.

''I don't care. You can't tell me what I can or can't do. I don't even know you!'' She takes off the unflattering hospital gown and throws it on the ground.

Red shakes her head in disbelief and makes her way over to the nurses' station. ''Excuse me?'' she asks to one of the nurses who is looking uninterestingly at the computer screen in front of her.

The woman casts an impudent yawn before she looks up at the brunette. ''Can I help you?'' Her intonation implies that she's clearly not in a very talkative mood.

Red doesn't let this throw her off balance, as she continues. ''Can you please get me the clothes of the woman in room 487?''

The nurse suppresses another yawn of boredom as she looks something up on the computer. ''Her discharge date is tomorrow,'' she states matter of fact.

''I know, but she really refuses to stay here.''

''As the doctor has advised her to stay one night, it is very unwise to go in against his orders.''

The brunette is losing her patience with this stoic persona. ''I'm aware of that, but I'm afraid there's nothing you, nor I can do about her wanting to leave. You obviously haven't met her,'' she adds sarcastically.

''Of course we cannot force her to stay…''

''Precisely,'' she cuts her off, before she can say anything else. ''So if you can just give me the discharge papers and her cloths? Thank you,'' says Red with a quick nod as she is handed the necessary documents and clothing. She hurries back to the hospital room where Lacey is nowhere in sight. ''Lacey?!'' cries Red as she anxiously looks around. ''Lacey?!''

''Hey, relax, I was just gone to the loo, no need to make a fuzz about that,'' says the woman indifferently as she walks out the bathroom door, still only wearing her lingerie.

A sigh of relief escapes Red's mouth. ''I've your clothes here.'' She points at the plastic bag that she's carrying. ''And you need to sign these documents.''

Lacey quickly signs the documents and pulls on the clothes that are in the bag. ''I look like a big elephant in this horrendous dress,'' she notes as she looks in the bathroom mirror. She's wearing the purple dress, Belle's favorite. ''I can't believe I ever wore this voluntarily.''

''You know what, before we head to the bed and breakfast, we'll just stop by my place and you can have some cloths from me?'' suggests Red.

Lacey inspects the other woman's clothing from top to bottom.

Red is wearing a fashionable red blouse, matching belt, a black leather pants and high heels.

''Nah, I'm not sure if I like your clothing style,'' she bluntly says.

''And thank you for the compliment,'' replies Red. She's still not used to this new version of 'Belle.'

''You're welcome. So can we get out of here now?''

* * *

When the two women are in Red's room, she opens her closet door. ''These are all my clothes. Feel free to look around.''

These words are taken up quite literally by Lacey as she almost dives into the closet. ''Nope. No, not this one. Awful. No way…'' it sounds with every piece of clothing she holds in her hand and examines closely before she casually throws it on the bed.

Red observes the spectacle that's unfolding in front of her in great astonishment.

''What's this?'' the other woman asks curiously, as something on the bottom of the closet has drawn her attention. She takes out a plastic bag and holds it under Red's nose.

''That's nothing. Just some old clothing I'm planning to get rid of.'' She hopes that Lacey doesn't open the bag and tries to pull it out of the woman's hand.

But Lacey is faster and turns the bag upside down, resulting in several edgy-looking pieces of clothing dropping to the ground.

The color of Red's cheeks now perfectly matches her name and dyed hair strings.

''This is awesome!'' cries Lacey all excited as she holds up a pair of fishnet tights, a revealing belly button tank top and a very, very short skirt. She holds it all in front of her and twirls around. ''Do you think it would suit me?''

''I'm not sure…''

''Oh, what the hell, I'm just going to try it on.'' She doesn't even wait for an answer, but starts pulling off the purple dress and tries on Red's ensemble. She grabs a pair of wedged heels from the shoe rack in the corner of the room and takes a good look at herself in the mirror. ''Perfect!'' She pulls down the tank top she's wearing just a little more, so that it reveals the upper borders of her bra. ''So, where in this awful boring little town can we go out dancing?'' she asks.

''Lacey I'm not sure if this is such a…''

''Geez, you just sound like a mother! Looking at your hidden clothing in your closet, I bet you weren't always this flawless, so stop acting like a responsible adult and have some fun with me! Please?'' she adds when she sees the embarrassed frown on the other woman's face.

''Fine,'' Red shrugs. ''But are you sure that you don't want to rest a bit? You've gone through a lot.''

''I don't know a better way to heal than to dance it all off, believe me,'' laughs Lacey. ''Come on!'' She makes her way down the stairs.

Red takes a deep breath and follows the other woman to the hallway, when her grandmother is just coming around the corner.

''Ruby! It's bad enough that you like to dress up like a drag queen during Fleet Week, but you can't just force it onto others like that?!'' she scolds.

''Granny, you don't really think that I…''

''No time, we have to go! Nice to meet you Granny! Your granddaughter has a brilliant taste in clothes!'' cries Lacey in passing, while she pulls Red with her out of the door.

They leave Granny standing bewildered in the hallway. What had just happened? ''I'm just getting too old for all this stuff,'' she says to herself as she heads back into the living room.

* * *

**Say 'hi' to Lacey haha! ;) What do you think of her? And her interaction with Red?**

**As always, please leave a review :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Even in the hospital, Emma doesn't say a word and stares absently to a spot on the wall. She's clinging onto Henry's hand while they wait for Dr. Whale to arrive. He promised to come see her as soon as Snow's situation is 'stable.' The blonde had gone completely hysterical when the nurses had told her this, and she demanded them to share more information on the medical condition of her mother. When the head nurse promised her that she would look into it and come right back when she knew more, Emma had fallen back onto the pillow of the hospital bed and cried until there were no more tears left in her body to shed. The strong sedatives she was given made her feeling dazed and gave her the stoic appearance.

''Hey buddy,'' whispers Neal when he enters the hospital room. ''How's your mom doing?'' he asks as he takes a chair and sits down next to his son.

''She's been like this for over the last hour,'' answers Henry. ''They gave her some medication that made her like this.''

''She'll be fine Henry, I'm sure of that. She just needs her rest now. She's been through a lot.''

''I guess...'' replies the boy hesitantly. ''How's Mr. Gold?'' he asks in return. He's not ready yet to call the man ''grandpa'' or to give him a similar title.

''He's all better, just a little tired, that's all. He knew exactly what to do with the flower petals and mixed it with some other ingredients. That all together healed him.''

Henry nods absently. His mind is occupied with great concern for his mother and grandmother. When Emma's sheet slides down a bit, he quickly uses his free hand to place it back. His other hand is still in unity with his mother's.

There's a soft knock on the door and Charming enters the hospital room. His eyes are red rimmed and his hands are trembling lightly. He walks up to the blonde's bed where Neal makes room for him to sit.

Henry also starts to get up, but his grandfather asks him to stay.

''She needs you Henry.'' His focus shifts to his daughter. The nurses told him about her situation and that they had to give her sedations. ''Hey darling, how're you feeling?'' he asks.

''She hasn't said a word in over an hour,'' explains Henry.

''I see…'' He gently weaves his hand through the blonde's curls.

''How's grandma?'' asks Henry.

Charming exchanges a worried look with Neal, which is spotted by the boy.

''You can tell me! Please don't lie to me anymore, to spare my feelings or something. I can handle it.''

''You're right Henry, you're completely right,'' says David as he places a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulders. ''Your grandmother is in surgery at the moment. She suffered from internal bleeding, do you know what that is?''

''Of course I know what that is,'' he answers a little agitated.

''Okay, well so they're trying their best to find out exactly what it is that is causing it and to stop that as fast as they can.''

There's a short silence as no one is sure what to say. Neal finally leaves the room to get something to drink from the coffee machine.

Charming continues to stroke his daughter's blonde locks until there's some sort of recognition shining through in her eyes.

''Dav… dad?'' she asks softly.

''Ssst, it's all right, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere.''

''How's mom?''

There it was. There it finally was. She called her parents 'mom' and 'dad,' and it gives Charming the most indescribable feeling of pride and love. Their daughter has finally fully accepted the fact that this are her parents and that she can trust them. ''She's in surgery now, but they've promised me that she'll be fine,'' he assures Emma. ''Just get some rest. She'll be out of surgery before you know it.''

''Remember my superpower?'' asks the blonde hoarsely. ''It tells me that you're not telling the entire truth. What's going on?''

He has no choice but to tell her about the internal bleeding that her mother's facing at the moment.

''She'll get through it,'' nods the blonde with a flair of certainty that she hasn't showed since the confrontation with Regina and Cora. To empower her words, she gently squeezes Henry's hand.

Charming is completely taken aback by this sudden action of faith that his daughter just showed.

Emma sees this and quickly adds: ''you of all people should know how strong she is. She'll get through this. _We_'ll get through this. Together.'' She smiles bravely. Of course she's not convinced about it at all, but seeing her father and son so worried about her, has turned an imaginary switch in her head. The guilt she feels about what happened, is eating her from the inside but she can't show this to them. She needs to keep it to herself. The focus now should be on Mary Margaret and getting her better.

''You're just like your mother, do you know that?'' proclaims her father admirably.

With this comment he crossed a line with Emma. It completely brings her out of her comfort zone. She flinches back from her father's touch and raises her knees up to her chest. ''Hey, how did you guys know to come look for us?'' she asks, glad to change the subject.

''Neal knew!'' cries Henry all excited again.

''Neal?!''

''Yes, he told us that he felt that something was wrong. He couldn't explain to us what it was that set it off, but he just felt that you needed help,'' explains Charming.

''That's just… weird!'' exclaims the blonde. Deep inside she feels kind of flattered. She knows from the book that her parents also always felt it whenever the other one was hurt or in trouble. But wait… does that mean that…? No, that can't be! She tries to push the whole 'true-love' subject as far away as possible.

''I know right?'' agrees Henry, without realizing how this information actually felt like a hit of a bombshell to Emma.

After a few minutes the boy starts to doze off in his chair.

''Do you want to sleep here with me on the bed?'' asks his mother as she already starts to make room for him.

''I don't know if I'm allowed…'' he starts to bring in against the offer.

''Sometimes Henry, you need to take advantage of your position as a royal,'' she grins.

He smiles back and takes his shoes off before hopping on the high hospital bed.

Emma lifts up the sheets for him, and gently puts them back down when she's sure he's all comfortable.

Not soon after that, the boy dozes off into a deep slumber.

''You should get some rest too,'' whispers Charming to his daughter.

''But what if there's any news on mom?'' she states in response.

''I promise, if there's any news, I'll wake you right up.''

With that promise, Emma loses the battle against the pervading need for sleep and closes her eyes.

* * *

''More suction here please!'' calls the surgeon to one of the assistants when they're operating on Snow. ''There's too much blood, I can't see a thing!''

The assistant moves his hand so that he can remove blood from the area around the right kidney.

''Dammit, she loses too much blood. Prepare five bags of O-negative, we're going to need it!'' the surgeon yells to one of the other assistants.

* * *

Dr. Whale is looking through the window of the observing area. The sight he's looking at worries him. When the surgeons can't locate the exact location of the bleeding, Snow will lose too much blood, and that will definitely going to have consequences for her health. Disaster scenarios such as permanent damage to the organs, brain hemorrhage or even death are possibilities not to be ruled out. He glances at his watch. This is just taking too long. They should've found the cause of the bleeding by now. He watches as they attach a bag of blood to the intravenous, desperately trying to get some blood back into the brunette's body.

* * *

But the surgeons are fighting a running battle, and they know it. The life is literally flooding out of Snow. The anesthesiologist is constantly looking at the vitals that are being shown on a monitor that is located next to the operating table. ''Blood pressure is dropping significantly,'' announces the woman.

''We really need to stop this bleeding. More suction please! And get extra gauzes, fast!''

The staff is trained well and the team works together like a well-oiled machine. Within no time they've attached an extra bag of blood and have arranged extra gauzes to help stop the bleeding. But all of their hard work is to no avail.

She's crashing!'' the anesthesiologist suddenly calls out. As if on cue, loud alarm bells start to ring and one of the assisting surgeons runs to the defibrillator. ''All clear!'' he yells as he places the two pads on Snow's chest.

All the staff steps back when the assistant activates the defibrillator.

* * *

Whale watches how his colleagues try to revive Snow White. Although he isn't religious, he mumbles a quick prayer. He thinks about the consequences for Storybrooke when Snow dies. When Charming and Emma are mourning about her death, there's nothing in the way of Regina Mills to gain more power than ever. Something he wants to prevent from happening at all costs. He knows how her power can destroy everything you hold dear.

He now sees that the surgeons are trying to get her heart started for the third time. He fears the worst.

* * *

It is then that a curved line becomes visible on the heart monitor. The sound of alarm bells change into an evenly beeping tone. ''She's back!'' cries the anesthesiologist.

''Good, but we're not there yet,'' responds the surgeon gloomy as he continues trying to find the evil-doer inside Snow's body.

Another bag of blood is attached to the intravenous, and the assistants try to suck away as much of the blood that's leaking out of Snow's body as possible.

''Got it!'' the surgeon finally exclaims. ''It's the right kidney, just as I thought it would be.''

* * *

Whale rolls his eyes as he hears the last comment of the surgeon. That's why he never could get along with these colleagues of the hospital. The arrogance is written all over the man's face.

Whale waits until his colleagues finish up the surgery and for the final report of the surgeon. It appears that even though they were able to close the internal wound, Snow has lost so much blood, that they find it necessary to keep her in an artificial coma.

* * *

Charming is scanning through an outdated magazine, while occasionally glancing over to his daughter and grandson who are now peaceful asleep in the bed.

Neal has gone back to the apartment, feeling out of place in the hospital when Emma and Henry are asleep.

When he hears a knock on the door, Charming turns his head and quickly gets up as he sees Dr. Whale entering. ''How is she?'' he whispers, trying to make as little sound as possible.

''She just came out of surgery. There were some complications.'' He wants to be straight with Snow's husband.

''What do you mean, some complications?''

''You knew she was bleeding internally right?''

''Yes,'' answers Charming, waving his hand, hurrying the other man to continue.

''Because of that, there was a lot of blood loss. The surgeons had trouble finding the location where the blood came from. Along the process, they gave her extra blood, but this wasn't enough. She went into cardiac arrest after an hour and a half.''

Charming's face turns paler and paler with the second.

''Luckily, they were able to revive her. They also located the bleeding and were able to stop it. However, because of all the blood loss, they've decided to keep her in an artificial coma.''

''Coma?'' repeats Charming.

''Yes, but just until she's saved up enough strength.''

''And how long will that take?''

''That really depends for every individual… I can't point out an exact time I'm afraid.''

''The prince nods absently. ''Thank you,'' he whispers.

''Let me know if you need anything else,'' the doctor says formally. He nods his head in greeting and leaves the room.

Although the two men were talking quietly, Emma stirs in the hospital bed and opens her eyes. She immediately spots Charming's terrified expression. ''Dad, what's wrong?'' she therefore asks. ''Is she…?''

''No darling, no, don't worry. It's not that!'' Her father hurries over to her and grasps her hand. He repeats to her what Dr. Whale had just told him a minute ago.

Emma takes a deep breath. ''Okay, that's okay right? I mean, they stopped the bleeding and all, so she just needs to strengthen and then she'll be fine right?'' She absently runs her fingers through her son's hair.

The boy is still in a deep slumber, being completely exhausted because of the lack of sleep and all the experiences of the last few days. It's a lot to process for the eleven-year-old.

''Yes I think so,'' he assures his daughter as he gives a soft squeeze in her hand.

She gives him a watery smile and takes another deep breath before her eyes close again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi guys, sorry it took me so long. Graduating and work is taking a toll on me so to say ;) But I know, that's not really a reasonable excuse... I hope I can make it up to you with the following chapter. I'm saying beforehand, it get's a bit dark... So be warned ;)**

**I owe a major thanks to Rolltidegoironmen, because YES, I have a beta reader! And she's the best! I'm so excited about this!  
**

**Okay, let's go!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't anything, just this profile ;)**

* * *

24 hours pass without any significant change in Snow's health condition. The doctors still keep her in an artificial coma to make sure that she gets strong enough. The operation certainly took a toll on her.

Although Charming knows that it is all for the best and that the doctors do everything to help his wife, he can't get used to seeing her like that; connected to all those tubes and wires and her skin almost transparent and ghostlike.

Today is the day that Emma finally is allowed to go check on her mother. Dr. Whale kept her bedbound , and sedated with painkillers, but he promised that that was only temporary.

''Are you ready?'' asks her father. He got a wheelchair from the nurses and drove it into Emma's room.

''I am, but dad, I'm _not _getting into that wheelchair. I can walk myself.'' She uses her arms to push herself up from the bed, and her father hands her a pair of slippers. As soon as she has put them on, she swings her legs over the edge of the bed and tries to stand up. But as soon as her feet touch the ground, she starts to feel dizzy.

Her observant father is at her bedside within a second and holds her up straight. ''Wheelchair?'' he grins.

''Wheelchair…'' she answers grudgingly.

Gently, Charming helps his daughter into the means of transport and she settles down with a sigh.

Wearing her comfortable sports trousers, grey sweater, and her favorite slippers, Emma lets herself be led to her mother's hospital room.

Although Henry had pleaded that it was much better for them all to let him stay in the hospital, the blonde had insisted that he had to go back to school. So he went, but there was some protest prior to it. Emma smiles at the memory of that. She loves that kid to death.

When they enter Snow's hospital room, the first things they both hear are all the bleeps and other sounds coming from the monitors and other machines that observe the brunette closely.

Charming glances at his daughter reaction when he has parked the wheelchair next to Snow's bed. He sees the remaining color in Emma's face draining away in seconds.

Her eyes are glued to her mother and disbelief is expressed on the outside. Her hand slowly moves towards her mother's arm, and she touches it gently. Her throat is dry and she can't manage to say anything.

Her father places a comforting hand on her shoulder as he stands behind her.

Suddenly, Snow's eyes start to flicker a bit and her body starts to tremble uncontrollably.

Emma flinches. ''What's happening?!'' she cries out. She's overcome by fear, certainly when the monitors in the room alarmingly ring. ''Dad what's going on?!'' she cries again, looking around her, like there is anything there that can make her mother stop doing this.

At that moment, Dr. Whale and two nurses step in the room, hurried to undertake action.

Charming clasps the handles of the wheelchair and takes his daughter a few meters back, leaving enough space for the doctor and the nurses to do their job. ''What's going on Whale? You told me she would be fine!'' He exclaims.

''She's having some kind of seizure, but I've no idea where it's coming from,'' is the doctor's reply. With might and main they try to make it stop, using all kinds of different medication and different tests to discover what caused this.

Snow's body doesn't stop shaking.

''Do something!'' yells Emma, although she knows deep down inside that they're doing everything in their power to help her mother. It feels just like when they were in the woods and Emma wasn't able to do anything to help Snow. That powerless feeling is killing her again.

* * *

When Snow opens her eyes and looks around, it is dark. Pitch black. There's no way she can see anything. She feels an immense pain in her stomach. She crawls over the ground, careful not to hit anything, but observant enough to try to explore the room she is in. After a few steps she feels that she has reached one end of the room, as her fingers slide over a wall. Turning the other way, she can only make it two steps before she reaches the other end. She establishes that the room she is in, is quite small, merely a few square meters. ''Hello?'' she calls out.

''Mary Margaret?'' she hears, and her heart skips a beat. ''Emma?!'' she cries in disbelief.

''Mary Margaret, where are you?''

''I'm here. Emma it's all dark here, I can't see a thing! Where are you?''

Suddenly, the room is bathed in light.

Snow gets up, now fully able to see, and looks around. ''Emma? Where are you?'' she repeats.

''I'm here!''

''I can't see you! Emma I can't see you!'' A wave of panic runs through the brunette's body as she's desperately trying to look for an exit. But she only can see four walls. No doors, no windows. No way to escape. Then, she smells smoke. ''Emma, do you smell that too? I smell smoke!''

The smoke is now entering the room through invisible cracks in the floor.

'''There are flames, everywhere!'' Snow hears her daughter calling. ''Mom, help me! Mom!'' Her daughter is in danger, she needs help! ''Emma, stay calm, I'm going to get you out of there!'' She needs to get to her daughter. With all the power within her, she tries to break the floor underneath her. But since she has nothing, no solid object or anything to help her with that, it's not working.

''Mom!'' cries Emma again. A horrifying scream follows, making the hair on Snow's arm stand on end.

''Emma? Emma, please answer me!'' The desperate tone of voice is heartbreaking. Her daughter is down there all by herself, in life-threatening danger and there is nothing she is able to do about it. ''Emma, please!'' But the sound of licking flames underneath her feet is the only sound she hears. ''No, no, no! Emma!'' She drops on her knees and hits with her fists on the floor, which is extremely hot. But she doesn't care. She doesn't feel any heat. Only pain. A suffocating pain that is indescribable to any person. Tears are running over her face and she feels like she's dying herself.

''Well, well, well, who do we have here? A mourning mother?''

Snow forces herself to look up to the person that was speaking to her. ''Regina, how did you get here?''

''Through that door, how else?'' she states the obvious while pointing at the door behind her.

''That door wasn't there before,'' stumbles Snow.

''Yes it was there before. As a matter of fact, it has always been there.''

''You're lying. It wasn't there. You probably just created it.''

''I didn't do so, and I can show you.'' The smirk on Regina's face is vengeful and mean. With a gesture with her hands, she conjures a mirror on the wall in front of them. The images on it are unmistakable footage from what happened earlier in the room the two women are in. ''And now, you watch!'' demands Regina. With another gesture with her hands she forces Snow's head to snap up, eyes focused on the images that play in front of them.

Snow sees herself searching for a way out, exactly like she had done before. The only difference is that she clearly sees the door in the mirror. The same door Regina just came through. ''This is not real…'' she sobs.

''Yes it is, and you had a way out. A way to go to your daughter. But you didn't. You just left her there to die, _Snow White_,'' Regina replies viciously. ''Let's take a look at the other room. The room below us, shall we?'' With a short wave of her hand, the Evil Queen conjures another image on the mirror.

Snow watches her daughter walking around in an empty room, very similar to the one she and Regina are standing in right now. She hears Emma calling out for her. She can't look at it anymore and closes her teary eyes.

''I don't think so,'' hisses Regina. Her magic forces Snow to open her eyes and look up to the mirror. ''You caused Daniel's death. Your daughter killed my mother. In front of me. It is time that you pay for what you did. I want you to go through the same. To see one of your loved ones die before your very eyes.''

''Oh no, please no!'' begs Snow. With all her might she tries to close her eyes again, shutting herself off from everything, but the magic is too strong. She hears her daughter calling out for her again in the looking glass, before enormous flames emerge, licking through every inch of the room. The brunette sees her daughter being cornered, the flames closing in on her. The expression on Emma's face is that of agony. Snow throws up her hands, touching the mirror. Touching the image of her daughter. ''Emma, no…'' she sobs. Shivers start to well up from inside her as she observes the flames being only inches away from her daughter. She hears Emma calling out for her one last time, before the blonde casts the bloodcurdling scream that she's heard before. There is no way for her daughter to escape, and to see her dying like that is just too much. The flames start to consume the blonde. A gurgling sound escapes Snow's mouth as she drops to the ground, and starts shaking in an unstoppable pace. She loses consciousness shortly after that.

* * *

Regina has her eyes fixated on the mirror on the wall. She is standing in the memorial area of the mausoleum, next to her mother's coffin and memorial stone. After she came back here with the lifeless body of her mother, she made sure to give her mother the service she deserves. She allowed herself to mourn for a couple of hours, but she knew that her mother would not have wanted her to act weak. She would've wanted her to stand strong, because that is what she was taught. To never show your uncertainties and fears, even in the most wretched circumstances. To take action instead of letting it slow you down.

So that is what she will do. Regina will take revenge on Snow and that horrible daughter, _Emma_. Everything was taken from her, by _them. _They both need to pay for what they've done to her. For what they've taken from her.

In the short time that she was together with her mother in Storybrooke, she had learnt a lot. Things that, how ironically, be useful in this situation. Using the enchanted mirror in the mausoleum, she is able to look into everyone's life. But she's not interested in just everyone's life. She is only interested in that of the Charmings.

When she comes to realize that the doctors are keeping Snow in a coma, her plan is made easily. And the first step is to enter in Snow's subconscious. Another thing she has learned from her dear mother. She will enter in Snow's subconscious and manipulate her thoughts, using the mirror. Although the things she makes Snow see are fake, the girl will think that it is all very real and her reactions to that are therefore also very real. Regina wants to make use of that and hurt Snow where it hurts the most: by using loved ones against her.

Regina smiles darkly when she watches Snow falling to the ground after having seen her daughter dying in front of her eyes. She uses the mirror in the mausoleum to direct the whole event and it all works according to plan. ''Thank you mommy,'' she says when placing a hand on her mother's memorial stone next to her. ''And I'm not done with them yet, I promise. They will pay for what they've done.''

* * *

''Do something!'' repeats Emma hysterically. She firmly squeezes her father's hand, while they both passively have to watch how Dr. Whale is trying to get the situation under control.

Snow is still shaking uncontrollable. The nurses try to hold her still, moving too much can cause her internal bleeding to start again.

''This really looks like,'' he says to the nurses who nod in agrement. ''But how can that be?''

''A what?!'' asks Charming, clearly confused.

''PNES, psychogenic non-epileptic seizure. It's like a panic attack, but resulting in a seizure,'' the doctor explains. ''She doesn't have an epileptic history, and the tests confirm that it's not that. So it must be PNES.'' He turns his attention back to the nurses. ''Start her on Zoloft. I want to see if that helps.''

The nurses nod and do what they're asked.

In only a matter of seconds, the seizure stops, and Snow lies still again, just as before.

''I'm afraid your wife and mother suffered from a panic attack,'' concludes Whale.

''But how? She is in a _coma _for Christ's sake,'' asks Emma, clearly relieved that the situation is back 'under control,' but still completely jumbled over what just had happened.

''I truly have no idea,'' answers Whale in all honesty.

* * *

**So the story is taking a darker turn... Do you like it, or do you think that it's a bit too much? Please let me know in a review. Thank you so much! :)**

**And it's almost OnceSunday, yayy! Finally! (Sorry, just needed to let this out. The hiatus is just too frustrating ;) )**


	16. Chapter 16

**There is just no excuse for this late update. I'm so sorry about this guys. If you're still bearing with me, you earn all the medailles in the world! ;) But even during my absense, I noticed you're fav's, follows, and reviews and you can't imagine how good that feels. It really keeps me going! **

**Major thanks again to ****Rolltidegoironmen for betaing (is that even a word?) this chapter! **

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't anything, just this profile ;)**

* * *

''Snow? Snow?''

She hears her name, but can't point a finger on who called her. The voice who called out her name seems to stand miles away from her.

She feels numb, and it's a nice feeling. It's like she's flying on soft white clouds, gliding through the sky. Like she's weightless. Why would anyone wake her up from that?

''Snow?''

This time the voice is louder, clearer for her to hear. She also feels a tingling sensation on her arm this time. The floor she lies on is cold. Then, her eyes shoot open and everything comes back to her in a flash of light.

The burning room. No way out. Emma. Emma! She needed help! The room she was in was on fire! The horrifying scream her daughter had casted repeats over and over in Snow's head.

The brunette lifts up her legs and places herself in fetal position. Her body rocks back and forth, until she realizes that she's not alone.

''Snow, what happened?'' asks her husband, who is trying to help her up.

As soon as she feels Charming's protective arms wrapping around her she sits up straight and moves back as quickly as she can. She doesn't want to look at him. She _can't _even look at him. Not after what she did. ''Go away!'' she yells as loud as she can.

''What are you talking about? Snow, what happened? Please talk to me.'' He tries to move closer, crouching down to come to eye level with her. His voice is soft and caring.

Snow knows what her husband is doing. It's in his nature to calm down people, to help people, especially when it comes to one of his family members. He will do everything to try to make things better. But that will not work this time. What has happened exceeds all levels of catastrophe. It was the most brutal thing that could happen to a parent, losing a child. Yet she was the one to blame. She is the one responsible for the… she cannot come to think about it. But she has to face the facts. She is the one responsible for the _death_ of her daughter. She doesn't deserve pity. She should be punished. Or better, be killed herself. She is not worthy to live her life any longer. Not after what she did. She was able to save her daughter and she failed. There is no forgiveness for that.

Shock starts to dawn on the Prince's face. ''Snow, what did you do?'' he asks softly, but determined.

The brunette's back is pressed against the wall, knees raised to her chest and her hands cover the sides of her face. Her body rocks back and forth, and her eyes are glued to the floor beneath her. But she doesn't say a word.

''Not very talkative is your wife now is she?'' asks a low voice.

''Regina?'' asks Charming bewildered.

''Yes, it is me.'' A silhouette appears from the shadows, just like had happened before. ''Well, as she's not going to talk, let me show you what happened,'' offers the Queen as she motions to Snow.

''What do you mean? Show me what?'' asks Charming.

''This!'' is Regina's response. She waves her hand and immediately, a mirror appears again on the wall behind her.

Snow knows what her husband is watching. What is being shown in the mirror. The truth. A cold chill runs up her spine when she hears her daughter's final scream once more.

''No. No,'' whimpers Charming.

Snow can't help herself but to look up at her husband. He looks devastated. Tears run from his face and his eyes are glued to the mirror, which now only shows blackness. She looks back down again, no longer able to look at what she has wreaked.

It remains silent for a long while. Regina seemed to have disappeared the moment she showed Snow's husband the shocking truth.

The air feels like it is being pressed out of the room. A suffocating atmosphere remains.

Finally, Charming turns around. Slowly. ''What were you thinking? Are you out of your mind?'' His eyes spit fire and his voice is like thunder. ''You are sick, you know that? Sick! Our daughter was in danger, and while you had the chance to save her, you didn't. Instead you just stood there like some sort of idiot, feeling sorry for yourself, or whatever the hell it was that you were doing. While our daughter was _dying _ in there!''

Snow feels herself become smaller with every word her husband says to her. It's like a knife is carving holes in her body. Deeper and deeper.

''You are sick, you know that?'' he says again. ''A sick and twisted person! There are no words to describe this. You've demolished our world. At least my world, because my world is my _family_. But apparently that doesn't mean anything to you, now does it?''

The brunette feels herself literally dying bit by bit, from the inside. She knows that everything Charming says is right. She must be sick. Mentally instable. No worse even, because mentally instable people do not let their children die like that. She can picture her heart being as black as coal.

She has never felt so miserable her entire life. Not when her mother died. Not when her father died. Because she wasn't to blame for that. That wasn't her fault. At the time, she thought that losing your parents is the most horrible thing that can happen. Now, reality has caught up with her. She's the villain with the darkest heart. Nothing more and nothing less.

It is then that Charming verbalizes the thing that Snow couldn't agree with more. ''There is no forgiveness for what you did. You are not worth to live. You have to die.''

* * *

''Neal?'' asks Emma when she sees her ex-boyfriend entering the hospital room. She notices him hiding something under his jacket.

''Hey Em, how're you feeling?'' he asks quietly as he's standing in the doorway, all insecure.

''You can come in, I won't bite,'' the blonde says jokingly, trying to lighten up the mood.

''There's no way of knowing with you,'' he grins as he takes a chair to sit on.

''Well, I promise I won't.''

''How're you feeling?'' he asks again as he's all settled.

''Fine, I can't wait to get out of this place!'' exclaims Emma.

Neal seems satisfied with that answer, but his expression turns serious again, when he weighs his options on how he's going to say this to her. ''Hey listen,'' he starts, ''I heard about what happened to your mom earlier, and… well, Henry told me that your father woke up from his coma when your mother read him from Henry's fairytale book.'' He finally reveals what he had concealed under his jacket.

''Ah, so that's what it is you were hiding there,'' Emma says with a watery smile. ''I was getting worried that you had gained a few pounds.''

Neal smiles sheepishly at the blonde. ''No, I was just thinking, well you know, maybe you can read it to your mother. Maybe it will help her?'' When Emma doesn't reply immediately, he takes the book again and to puts it away. ''Sorry, stupid idea. I shouldn't have brought it up.'' His face is covered with embarrassment.

''No, no it's not that! It's not that at all.'' Emma's eyes light up. ''Thank you for this. I really appreciate it. It's just… well I didn't expected something like this from you, that's all.'' She grabs his hand. ''Thank you,'' she whispers.

''Always,'' he replies hoarsely.

They both look at each other, and another spark seems to enlighten between the two.

Then, as suddenly as it came, Neal lets go of Emma's hand and gets up from the chair. ''I really should go. You need your rest.''

Although she doesn't want anything else than for him to stay, she only nods, building her walls up high again.

''Bye Em. I'll leave the book here on the table.''

''Bye. And, thanks,'' she answers before Neal heads out the door.

* * *

''Come on Ruby, one more!'' begs Lacey with a big smile. She holds up two shot glasses and waves one in front of her friend.

''No thanks, I think I skip this round,'' laughs Ruby, impressed by the amount of drinks the other girl can consume in only one hour time. It doesn't seem like Belle at all. But it isn't Belle, she has to remind herself. It's Lacey now.

Lacey is unaware of Ruby's ponderings and continues: ''Perfect, cause that means I get two!'' she laughs almost hysterically. She gulps down the two drinks. ''Man, what a boring song! Are we at a funeral or in a bar?'' she asks indignant as she walks over to the jukebox standing in the corner. ''Don't they have Van Halen or something?'' She flips through the songs, and as soon as she has found one she likes, she walks back to her friend. ''Now, let's dance!''

''But, hey wait!'' exclaims Ruby. But before she can do anything, she's dragged to the dance floor by Lacey.

''Come on. Let's have some fun. Let's bring some life into this dreadful place!''

As Ruby looks around, she notices that her friend is kind of right. There are a few men playing pool at the pool table, and some others are sitting at the bar. Not really what you call a lively place.

The four men at the pool table start to discuss something, while constantly staring and pointing at Ruby and Lacey, making Ruby feel quite uncomfortable. Even though she's known for her provocative choice of clothing, and not being afraid of male attention, this was even crossing a line with her.

Lacey didn't seem to notice any of the men at all, and starts dancing like some kind of wild animal.

When the four men clearly come to some sort of agreement, one of them steps forward, and walks towards the dance floor, encouraged by his friends, who cheer at him loudly.

''Hey there,'' he says to Lacey. ''You're a pretty good dancer.''

''Yeah? Well, you don't know what other things I'm good at,'' she answers, clearly not impressed.

''I bet,'' chuckles the man, like some sort of nervous schoolboy.

When he seems to be out of words to say, Lacey looks at him mockingly, and says: ''Really? Is that the only thing you can come up with? I've heard thousands of better pick-up lines in my life than this pal. Go annoy someone else.'' She waves him away with his hand, like he's some sort of annoying fly zooming around her. Clearly losing interest in the guy, she dances her way back to Ruby.

The three other men at the pool table shriek with laughter when their friend walks back to them, ashamed of the humiliation he's been through. This pisses him off so bad, that he straighten his shoulders and walks back up to Lacey with firm steps. ''Hey lady, I don't know who you think you are, but if you think that you can talk to me in that way, you're wrong. You're so very wrong and…''

But before he can finish his threat, a fist comes flying his way, hitting him directly on the nose. He passes out on the floor.

''What the hell did you do that for? I could've taken him myself, thank you very much!'' snorts Lacey to the attacker of her admirer.

Ruby also turns around and looks right into the face of… ''Mr Gold? What are you doing here?''

''Protecting Belle from that scumbag over there,'' scoffs Gold as he spits right in the face of the unconscious man on the floor.

''Who is Belle? And more importantly, who are you?'' cries Lacey, still angry with the man.

These questions takes the pawnshop owner by surprise, and he looks confused. ''What are you talking about? What do you mean who is Belle, and…?''

Ruby feels that this is the right moment to come in between. She lays a hand on Gold's arm. ''Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?'' she adds. The forcing tone in her voice make it clear that she's not joking around.

He nods and follows Ruby to the other end of the bar.

Lacey rolls her eyes at the two, but steps over the man's body and keeps on dancing like nothing has happened.

The men in the bar who've followed the spectacle with great interest, now turn back around and act like they haven't seen a thing. They all know by now that that girl has sharp nails, and that the shop owner has a temper not to be trifled with.

Ruby casts a worried look at Lacey before she hesitantly starts to explain to Gold what has happened during his absence. ''So here's the thing…''


	17. Chapter 17

**When I was reading the last chapter again, I realized that there might be some confusion on the whole Lacey-situation. But to clarify, when Belle had her second accident and gained the Lacey memories, all the memories between the first and second accident just disappeared. So she doesn't remember Mr Gold magically healing her, coming into her hospital room. She also doesn't remember her meeting and running away with Greg. I hope this is clearer now? If not, please do not hesitate to ask me about this, or any other things that still might be unclear. For me, this story is like a movie playing inside my head, but to put it in words and to bring it across to you in the right way is a completely different thing.**

**Anyway, thank you so much for showing your appreciation towards this story. I'm so glad that you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Unfortunately I've also some bad news... This will be one of the last chapters. I feel that the story is almost complete. But fear not, because we're not there yet! There's still plenty to come. **

**Many thanks once again to ********Rolltidegoironmen, I'm learning new things everyday! :)**

**********************DISCLAIMER: I don't anything, just this profile ;)**

* * *

Emma puts down the book of fairytales on the nightstand next to her mother's bed. She just read the story about her parents meeting each other out loud. She figured that that is probably her mother's favorite story.

''Hey Mom, I know you probably can't hear me, and I know that what I'm doing is probably quite useless, but I feel that we've run out of options to help you. I just don't know what to do anymore. Dr. Whale doesn't even know what's wrong with you exactly. And I was always a person to rely on the opinions of professional doctors and scientists, but now… now after everything that happened, I just don't know anymore.''

Emma is sitting on the end of Snow's bed.

''We've been through so much together, haven't we? We've faced things together that other people would never experience in a lifetime. Things that terrified me. But you know what? I wouldn't have wanted to miss it for the world. Because I was able to go through it all together with my mother. Even though I didn't realize that you're my mom at first.'' She smiles a little when thinking back about the time where the woman in the bed still was just Mary Margaret, her best friend, and not Snow White, her mother.

''A little over a year ago I never thought it was possible for me to trust someone ever again. And then this little boy was standing on the doorstep of my apartment. The ironic thing was, that I just blew out a candle on my birthday cupcake and wished to not spend another birthday all alone. And then out of the blue, there was this kid, claiming that I was his mother. When I dropped him off at Regina's, I wouldn't have thought to stay here, in Storybrooke. But I did, and well, then I met you. Or Mary Margaret. Do you know that since the moment we met I had a feeling about you? I don't know what to call it, but there was just something familiar about you. Like I had met you before. And it was not just that. It also felt right for some reason. Meeting you I mean.''

Absently, she gently combs her mother's short hair with her fingers.

''Without even noticing it, I started to trust you. Even as Mary Margaret you were able to slowly break down my walls. No one ever succeeded in doing that before. The countless times I got into fights with Regina you were there for me. You listened to me. When I was trying to reunite these two children with their father, and it seemed like a hopeless case, you helped me. And when Graham died you were there with the hot cocoa with cinnamon and a listening ear. I never had that before. Someone who was there for me when I needed it the most.''

Emma had never expressed her feelings in such a way. To no one. On one hand, she's very relieved to get it all off her chest. Because all these thoughts and emotions have been boiling up inside her for so long, and it has come to a point where she isn't able to deal with it anymore. She hates herself however for the fact that she would never have said these things out loud when her mother wasn't in a coma. Because that would mean that Snow would react to it all, something Emma can't handle. She wishes it would be easier for her, to express her feelings and emotions, as she knows how much her parents would love to see her opening up to them. But she just isn't ready for that yet. Not entirely that is.

''You gave me my first true home. Not only a place to live in, but also a place to feel safe and secure. For the first time in my life I felt wanted. I didn't know what that felt like before I met you. The environment I grew up in didn't allow these kind of things. I mean, some foster families were nice, but most of them just took me in for the money. It pays very well being a foster parent, did you know that? Well, and in the nice families, you always come second when being a foster child. When these people get their own children, they throw you back out on the street. 'Because the house gets too crowded,' they say to you.''

Some tears fall down on her mother's bed sheets.

''Meeting you and Henry are the best things that ever happened to me. When the curse broke, and I found out that David was my dad, I really just couldn't believe it at first. This was David, the man who hurt my best friend. I didn't even know him that well. We also didn't get the time to bond, because shortly after our little 'reunion' on the street, was when you and I were sucked into Jefferson's hat, and things got crazy. But I think you would be so proud of Dad and me now Mom. You sbould see us together. We actually made breakfast this morning. And you know how both of our cooking skills are.'' There's a tiny smile becoming visible on her face. ''Anyway, Henry was brave enough to taste our pancakes, and you know what he said? He said that it were the best pancakes he ever tasted. Can you believe that Mom? He actually said that to me.''

She clears her throat.

''Now, Dad and the dwarves are trying to locate Regina. And she can't be far, it will only be a matter of time until they find her. But I'm not sure if I want them to find her Mom. I mean, yes she hurt you. And that is an unforgivable thing. I only have the deepest hatred for that. But…'' Emma hesitates. ''But, I killed her mother. And that is unforgivable too. I just don't know how to live with myself. Not after what I did. Dad tells me all the time that it was the right thing to do. That it was to save our life. But I still can't believe that. Killing is never the right thing to do. There are other paths. Harder paths, but other paths. And, maybe even it was unknowingly, I chose the easy path. And I'm not going to be able to forgive myself for that. So even if they find Regina, I'm not sure if I can work up the courage to punish her. Because that wouldn't be fair. Even if Dad feels that it is. If Regina should be punished, I should be punished even more.''

She takes her mother's hand in hers. The sudden squeeze she feels then is so unexpected that she jumps off the bed and cries out: ''Mom?!'' She now also sees that her mother's other hand is bleeding. ''Mom?!'' she cries out again in shock.

* * *

She's ready for it. She's ready to die. Snow lifts up her head and looks Charming right in the eyes.

The Prince slowly walks up to her and takes out his sword. ''It is over Snow. It is finally over.''

* * *

Of course these are not Charming's words at all. They are Regina's, who is standing in the mausoleum once more. Calling on the power to trick someone's mind. Her stepdaughter's in this case. It needs a lot of her strength and is extremely exhausting. But the end justifies the means. And the result will be so rewarding.

The Queen has enjoyed Snow's suffering to the fullest, but it is time to finish it. To do the thing she has waited for, for years. Killing Snow White and destroying her family that is. To punish them for what they've done to her. It is finally time.

* * *

A soft breeze appears to blow through the room Snow is in. It is almost impalpable, but it is there.

Snow ignores it, as she still looks into her husband's eyes.

Charming however seems to be derived by it. His eyes shoot from left to right, as he's trying to locate the source of the air movement. When it seems to have stopped, his focus shifts back to his wife. His eyes are red rimmed and his pupils are dilated. He lifts up the sword. The blade shines dangerously in the bright light of the room.

''_Hey Mom.''_ The words are spoken so softly, that it seems like they're only the sounds of the wind passing by.

But this time, every fiber in Snow's body is triggered by the sound of… her daughter's voice. ''Emma?'' her cry is high and straight from the heart.

For a second, Charming is perplexed and stands frozen on the floor.

Emma's voice becomes louder and louder.

When Snow sees the shocked expression on Charming's face, she finally starts to understand what is happening. The pieces of the puzzle start to fit together. She uses the few seconds she has when Charming, or whoever the hell he really is, is taken aback and unable to move, to her advantage and jumps back on her feet. ''No!'' she yells. She throws herself forward and onto the person in front of her.

Charming recovers fairly quickly and fights back. The sword that is still in his hand sweeps forward dangerously, within an inch of coming into contact with the skin of Snow's arm.

Emma's voice is sounding loud and clear in the brunette's head. Like her daughter is speaking from inside her mind. The words makes her angrier, stronger, and more willingly to fight than ever. In an attempt to take the sword from her fake husband, she cuts open her hand. Blood is dripping onto the cold floor underneath her. Then, he overpowers her and holds a strong grip on both of her arms. She feels the air flowing out of her lungs.

Charming growls frantically and he throws away the sword, where after his strong hands surround Snow's throat.

* * *

This fight has just become more personal than ever. Even when everything is appearing to run smoothly, there is yet another Charming family member messing everything up. Can this never stop?! Regina now wants to feel Snow's life floating away herself. She wants to feel it like it is her own hands doing the job. The sword will not satisfy this need.

* * *

The brunette pants for breath when she feels the pressure on her throat increase with the second. She's not strong enough to take on her husband. He's athletically built and trains a lot. He has so much more muscle power than she has.

''_Meeting you and Henry are the best things that ever happened to me.''_

'My baby, this is my baby talking to me,' thinks Snow. 'She's alive. This cannot be the end. I need to get out of this.' She's deeply touched by her daughter's words. It penetrates her heart, and everything else suddenly seems nonessential compared to this. Regina may has powerful magic, but she has something that is even more important, more powerful . She is a mother. And a mother will do anything to protect her children. The only way to protect Emma is to be there for her. So dying is not an option. She gathers all the strength still left within her, and uses the hand that isn't being hold back by Charming to lash out at him. She manages to scratch his left eye, and he yells out in pain and fury.

''You little bitch!'' he screams at her, tightening the grip on her throat.

She lashes out a second time, not letting his appearance fool her. Her fist hits his nose and she hears a nauseating crack as she breaks the body part. She feels his grip on her throat loosen slightly and she takes this opportunity to roll out from underneath him and stretch her arm for the sword. Her fingers are only inches away from the weapon when Charming's fist hits her on the jaw.

''I don't think so!'' He raises his fist again, but before he can do anything, the sword starts to move towards Snow and lands in her hand.

Without thinking for even a second, she holds it firmly and lashes it out towards her fake husband. Then her vision blurs and it becomes dark.

* * *

Regina realizes that she has lost. Again. Now that Snow has defeated the Charming hologram in her subconscious, there's nothing keeping her in the coma anymore. She'll wake up any second now.

The Queen falls down on her knees next to her mother's memorial stone and cries with deep, unstoppable sobs.

* * *

Snow inhales a deep breath of oxygen and opens her eyes. ''Emma it's okay,'' is the first thing she says when looking at her frightened daughter.

At this, the blonde walks over to Snow's bed and puts her arms around her mother.

The brunette pulls her daughter in close and only whispers: '' it's okay, Emma, it's okay,'' over and over again.

* * *

**Thank you once again for reading. Reviews are much appreciated. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update. But here is a brand new chapter!**

**Guest N. and maressaonce, I hope you are happy with the tiny Emma-Henry scene that is in this chapter. I hope it's not dissapointing, as it is only small. However, I've written a three-shot recently, which is called Family Strength. That fic focusses only on the Swanfire/Swanthief family and has some cute Emma-Henry scenes in it. :)**

**And I hope that there are any Snowing shippers around here, cause I hope you like this one particular scene in this chapter. ;) **

**Please share your thoughts in a review below. :) *puppy eyes***

* * *

''Come on Lacey, we're going home,'' says Gold.

''Home? I don't even know you! Get the hell away from me!'' cries the brunette.

Helplessly, the man turns to Ruby, who just stares back questioningly, also not sure what to do. That's when he takes a deep breath and vanishes out of the bar.

''Who does that asshole thinks he is? Just because he hit that other guy, doesn't make him a hero, and it definitely doesn't mean that I'm going home with him.''

''It's all right, he's gone now. Let's just go home, okay?'' Ruby tries in order to calm the situation.

With an angry snort, the girl follows her friend to the exit, the eyes of the men in the bar piercing her back.

* * *

Neal hears a loud bang of the door when he was just falling back asleep. Everything that had happened the last few days and his feelings for Emma make it really hard for him to focus on his night rest. When he hears the sound of glass shattering, and some sort of hard object hitting a wall, he gets up and scurries downstairs, not sure what it is he will have to face.

The living room of Gold's house looks like a war zone. Plants, photo frames, books, and chairs are scattered around the room. A big lamp is in pieces next to the dining table. Gold himself, however, is nowhere in sight.

Neal had only seen his father like this back when he was a little boy, after his father had become The Dark One. Years later, it still scares him. He knows he has to find him, before he's going to do anything stupid.

He doesn't need to search very long. His father's down in the basement looking for anything that can help him get his love back.

''Papa?'' Neal still isn't sure about the status of their relationship, but he feels that over the last few days in Storybrooke, they had grown closer together. However, seeing his father in this kind of state brings up painful memories he had been working hard to forget. Were they back to how it was? Had his father didn't change at all? Well, it was too good to be true anyway.

'''Not now Bae, I need to find something, anything… I…''

Suddenly Neal realizes it. His father looks like an old, helpless man. And the only way Gold knows how to deal with the powerless feeling that is eating him from the inside, is by throwing and demolishing things. It's not evil that's consuming him, it's impotence. ''Papa, easy, what's wrong?'' He beckons his father to go sit on the stool behind the infamous spinning wheel. ''Please tell me, I'll help you.''

Miraculously, his father does what he's told.

Neal listens to the story without interrupting. Although he doesn't know Belle, he can see the love for this woman written all over his fathers' face, when he's talking about her. Yet, it's weird to hear his father talk with so much tenderness about someone else than Bae's mother. But Neal feels that this is right. He's surprised to feel sorry for his father about what has happened to Belle. ''But isn't there anything you can do? I mean, back in our world, you were able to make potions for everything.''

''Magic works different here in this world. There's nothing I can think of that will work. It's a side effect of the curse that made her lose her memories in the first place.''

''But there must be something that we can do? We were also able to magically heal you in this world.'' Neal pronounces the world 'magical' like if it's some sort of deathly disease.

''Yes, but that was because of a flower.''

''And because of Emma…'' adds Neal. ''Wait, why did you want her to plant the flower again?''

''Because she possesses the strongest magic there is. She's the product of True Love.''

''So, maybe she can help this time too?'' offers the other man.

''No she can't. Last time she helped solely for the reason of Henry. She didn't want him to lose his grandfather. This time it's different. She will not be able to call on her powers in this situation, simply because it doesn't concern her closest family members.'' The frustration is taking the upper hand again of the older man.

''We'll fix this. I promise, we'll fix this papa.''

* * *

''Mom are you okay? I mean, how…?'' Emma pulls away from her mother's embrace.

''Yes darling, I'm okay, and you're going to be too.''

The blonde suddenly realizes what these words mean. ''Wait, did you hear all of that?'' Her cheeks turn red with embarrassment.

''I did, but don't worry, it will be our secret,'' Snow says as she places an escaped lock of hair back behind her daughter's ear. ''It was your words which helped me through this.''

''I got you through what? What the hell happened?''

The brunette tells her daughter all about what Regina made her believe. Even though she knows now very well that it was all just a hoax, telling the part about Emma's death makes her tear up again.

''Hey, don't cry. Everything's all right. See, I'm right here, and I'm okay.'' The blonde takes her mother's hands in hers, but notices the blood on one of them again, like she saw earlier. ''Mom, you're bleeding.''

Snow quickly looks at her hand. ''I think the physical injuries were real after all,'' she sighs.

''Does that mean that Regina really could've killed you? Even in your subconscious?'' asks Emma, while she presses on a button to call a nurse.

''I think that that was exactly her plan: torture and later kill me, yes.'''

''Mom, I had no idea. If I only knew…''

''It's okay Emma, you helped me. Saved me again, without even realizing it.''

A nurse enters the hospital room, surprised to see that the woman in the bed is awake. ''How are you feeling Snow?'' she asks, where after she starts checking the vitals of the brunette. When she has taken care of the cutting wound on the brunette's hand, she notifies the two women in the room that Dr. Whale will be in shortly to do some final checkups.

When the nurse leaves the room, Snow asks: ''Are you okay? You're covered in bandages.''

''Yeah fine, they released me yesterday.'' The blonde glances at the big clock in front of her. ''I need to pick up Henry from school! I almost forgot about that.''

''Say 'hi' to him from me.''

''Are you kidding me? I'll bring him right over. He will be over the moon knowing that you're awake.''

''That would be nice,'' smiles the older woman.

Emma leans over to give her mother a quick kiss on the cheek. ''I'll be right back.''

* * *

''Grams!'' cries Henry the second he sees his grandmother. He throws himself forward to give her a bear hug.

''Whoa Henry, be careful!'' warns Emma.

''It's fine Emma,'' laughs Snow, her voice muffled by Henry's hug. ''I'm very happy to be able to hold you again,'' she says when ruffling the boys hair.

''What did Dr. Whale say?'' asks the blonde.

''He just couldn't understand what had happened with me,'' replies Snow with a wink. ''But he says that physically there's no indication that there's something wrong with me. I can go home tonight if there's no change.''

''Awesome!'' Henry let's go of his grandmother and glances at the two women. ''So, is someone finally going to tell me what happened?''

''That's your mom and my secret,'' says Snow mysteriously.

Emma sends her mother a grateful smile. She doesn't want Henry to know about the horrible things his adoptive mother did this time. It would only hurt him even more.

Henry on the other hand seems confused with his grandmother's reaction. He's always the one in on everything. ''But…?'' he therefore starts.

''No, no 'buts','' warns his mother. ''Grams should get some rest now. We're coming back to take her home tonight.''

* * *

''Snow?'' sounds a soft whisper coming from the dark shadows in the room.

''Charming?'' The brunette's voice is still a bit hoarse. She switches on the light next to her.

''Oh Snow! I can't believe you're all right.'' He gives his wife a gentle kiss, and lets his hands examining her face, still not believing that she's really fine.

''I'm glad to see you too,'' laughs Snow. She makes room for him to join her in their bed. ''Come on, I won't break. As you've probably heard from Emma, I'm all better now. Well except for my hand, but that's just a little cut,'' she laughs.

Emma and Henry picked her up earlier that evening. Dr. Whale agreed on releasing her, on the condition that there would always be someone around to keep an eye on her, and that she would take the medication that he prescribed.

''Yeah about that, when is someone finally going to tell me what happened?'' he asks to his wife.

''All in due time Charming, all in due time.'' Playfully she pulls him onto the bed.

Charming slowly lies down and rolls over on his side to face his wife. He kisses her again, and lowers his hands down her tiny figure.

A tingling feeling flows through her, and she's completely lost in the moment. Her fingers run through Charming's hair, down his cheeks and make a stop on his soft lips. Her breathing becomes faster with every touch she feels on her body.

''I missed you Snow,'' pants the man.

''I missed you too Charming. I love you.'' She kisses his lips while her hands are on his chest.

''You are the most beautiful woman in this world and the next.'' He intertwines his fingers with hers and looks into her green eyes. The pain he sees in there worries him, but he also sees something else shining through. Hope. He then knows that they're going to be all right. He lowers his hands again, touching her soft skin.

''Oh Charming,'' she moans, as his fingertips go over the sensitive spot on her belly. The sensation she feels inside her is almost too much to bear.

For a second there is nothing more than silence in the room. A soft evening breeze flows in from the open window.

There is no escaping now. Here are the two people who are the definition of True Love. The purest thing in the universe.

Charming helps his wife to undress and removes his t-shirt before he switches off the lamp on the nightstand.

* * *

''Will Gramps and Grams join us for dinner tonight?'' asks Henry to his birth mom.

''Not tonight kid, I don't think so.'' Emma can quite imagine what her parents are up to upstairs, and the thought of it makes her want to throw up. She shakes off the thought and sets down two plates of food on the dining table.

''What is this?'' asks Henry, distrustful, as he looks at the food on his plate.

''It's just mac and cheese. You never ate that before?''

''Not that I can remember…''

''What kind of stuff does your mom cooks for you?''

''I don't know. Like sushi and beef wellington and stuff like that.''

''You're joking now right?'' Emma looks unbelievably at her son. ''Where does she get the time to make all of that?''

The boy only shrugs.

''Well, you'll just have to do with this.'' Emma feels a bit annoyed by the fact that it always seems to be like a competition between her and Regina on who's the best mother for Henry.

''Mom, can I ask you something?''

''Sure.''

''What are they going to do to my mom when they find her?''

The blonde puts down her fork and needs some time to think about what she's going to say to him. ''Your mom has done some awful things Henry. There are many people who are mad at her.''

''I know that. But she's my mom too.''

''I know Henry, I know. We'll talk about it later, okay?''

'''Fine.'' He shrugs again and takes a bite of his mac and cheese. '''Hey, that's actually pretty good!''

''See! I'm not as bad a cook as you might think.''

A half smile appears on the boy's face. ''You're funny.''

''And I love you.''

''What's that?'' asks the boy playing surprised. He just wants to hear his mom saying those three words again.

''You heard me!''

''I love you too mom.''

''Now, finish your dinner.''

* * *

''Move that van over there will you. It's in plain sight when you park it over there.''

''Yes Sir,'' replies the other man.

''So, where were we?'' he continues turning around to face the man sitting in the wheelchair, ''Oh yes, so this is where the village is?''

''Yes, Storybrooke is located just behind these woods.''

''Then this location is perfect. We set up our surveillance equipment here, and the SWAT team is ready to intervene at any time.''

''You're not going to take care of the problem right away Inspector?''

''No Mr. Mendell,'' replies the FBI agent, ''the video you showed us seems to be authentic, so we consider this as a high priority case. However, we need to be careful. If this all is true, it is a matter of national security. Now, I would like to thank you for your help. Someone of our team will escort you home. Remember, you've signed an agreement of secrecy. This can in no way leak out. Otherwise there will be severe consequences. Especially for you,'' adds the inspector, well aware of the fact that Greg Mendell is just one of those nosy reporters, trying to make some big bucks out of stories like this.

''Of course. But what about my payment?''

''As I said, an officer will escort you to your house and he'll make sure that all will be arranged.'' The inspector didn't even bother anymore to hide his annoyance for this man. He beckons one of his colleagues and orders him to escort Mr. Mendell home.

The other agent only nods and pushes the wheelchair of Greg to one of the FBI vehicles.


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you so much guest N and hecatemoondancer for your lovely reviews! And thank you so much sassyswan for favoriting and following! And of course Charming SVU Angel thank you very much for your follow! :) And all the ones that already have favorited, followed, and reviewed before, THANK YOU! I really do appreciate all of your guys' support!**

**Hope you guys like the new chapter!**

**Special thanks once again to rolltidegoironmen for providing the necessary feedback! Grateful as always! :)  
**

* * *

That night, the comforting silence was rudely interrupted by the probing sound of the phone ringing.

All members of the Charming family were in a deep slumber right before, and David turns on his other side once more, when he feels a hand on his back.

''Honey, the phone is ringing,'' says Snow with a sleepy voice.

''What?'' asks David groggily.

''The phone is ringing.''

At that moment he notices a sound as well.

Together they walk down the stairs and into the living room where they find the telephone lying on the kitchen cabinet.

The two other family members entered the living room as well, worried about a phone call in the middle of the night.

Henry's hair is all tangled, and Emma doesn't look quite awake herself. They both sit down on the couch, and Emma absentmindedly strokes her son's hair while they're waiting for David to tell them what the phone call is about.

''Yeah?'' Asks Charming as soon as he picks up.

Snow stands behind her husband, and as her daughter beckons her to sit down with them, she just keeps staring at David, afraid for what's coming.

''I see,'' they hear the man saying into the phone. ''Where are you now?... Yes, okay.''

Henry glances questioningly to his mom, but she only shakes her head, telling him that she also doesn't have a clue what this is about.

''Okay, this is the plan. You tell the guys to just stay where you are. Don't get any closer, it might be dangerous. I'll be coming down right away. And stay. Where. You. Are. Understand?'' After David has put down the phone, the others are looking at him expectedly.

Snow is the first one who breaks the silence. ''What's wrong?''

''Please don't freak out, but I believe that after Greg, the entire world has now come into Storybrooke.''

* * *

''Ruby?''

''Yes?''

''Who is that man from the bar? I mean, who is he for real?'' Lacey's voice is no more than a soft whisper.

Red is lying in her bed, and the other brunette is lying on a mattress on the floor of her friend's bedroom.

''His name is Gold.''

''That's a weird name. Is that his first name?''

''No, it's his last name, but I've no idea what his first name is.''

''Oh okay… I don't know, he did seem familiar to me. Like I've seen him before. I just can't put a finger on where I know him from. I mean I'm not from here, and I assume he is. So how should I know him then?''

A spark of hope is enlightening inside Red. Was her friend breaking through in the girl next to her? How hard it is on her, Red needs to play the not-knowing game. She feels that they're getting somewhere, however explaining Lacey how she knows Gold might have the reversed affect. ''I've no idea. Maybe he just looks similar to someone you know?''

''Nah, I don't think so. I mostly don't hang out with older guys like that. But what the hell was that with: 'we're going home,' and him calling me Belle? What's up with that? ''

''I… I really don't know.''

Now, Lacey is sitting straight up on her mattress. ''Yes you do. You know!'' She cries out. ''I can hear it in your voice. You know more about this. Now, spill!''

Red inhales a large amount of air before she asks: ''Lacey, why are you staying here? In Storybrooke I mean. You just said you're not from here.''

''That's just because… because… because I'm not the kind of person staying in one place all the time. I'm a free spirit, I need my space. I'll probably be out of here soon,'' she says, without too much confidence.

''There was doubt there in your voice. Why did you have to think before answering this question?'' A smile appears on Red's face, and she's very grateful for the fact that it is too dark for the smile to be noticed by Lacey.

''There was no doubt. You must've misheard that.''

''I don't think so…''

''Well, okay, fine then. I don't know if it's this place or if it's you, but there's something keeping me here.'' She's eager to change the subject. ''But you didn't answer my questions. What was that man talking about?''

''I really can't say.''

''You can't, or you won't?''

''Both,'' admits Red.

''Fine. Well, I'll find out anyway. Whether it's with your help or without. I'm going to find out the truth. Good night.''

The sudden aggression that had been reflected in Lacey's voice startles her friend. She knows now however that something was triggered during the uncomfortable confrontation with Belle's lover in the bar. Red really hopes that Belle is able to break through. She knows she's somewhere inside this desolate girl, that is now lying with her back facing her. She just needs something more to help her friend to break out. ''Good night Lacey.''

* * *

''Neal?'' Emma sounds surprised when she hears the man's voice at the other end of the line. She didn't really think about where he was staying during his time in Storybrooke, but it seems that he's staying at his father's house. ''Is your father there? I need to talk to him. It's urgent.''

Snow turns around and spots Henry coming downstairs with his backpack. ''Henry, what are you doing?'' she asks friendly.

''I'm coming with you guys.''

''No Henry, that is way too dangerous. You need to stay here, while we solve the problem.''

''But I can help!''

The boys' nagging voice together with the accompanied puppy dog eyes, is almost enough to persuade his grandmother. ''Henry… You really can't. You know that.''

''But what if my mom shows up when you guys are away, and kidnaps me?'' The boy knows exactly on which buttons to push to get his way.

Emma sends a desperate glance to her mother. ''But he's the only one I can think of to be able to help us. Are you sure he's not up for it right now?... I see... Okay, see you in a bit. Bye.''

''Emma?'' asks Snow.

''Something's wrong with Gold. Neal says there's no way he is able to get his father to help us. Where are the dwarves now?''

''Charming headed up to the woods to meet them. They're sure that some sort of police force is observing Storybrooke just across the town line.''

''If that's the case we really should do something. This endangers the entire town. I'm sure that Greg has something to do with this. It's too much of a coincidence that right after he and Belle gone missing, this happens. We should've watched that guy better. It's our fault.''

''Emma, don't blame yourself. There were so many other things we had to worry about. We did our best. We will do now anything we can to make sure that our town will not be endangered.'' Snow stands at a certain distant from her daughter, afraid that coming too close will make Emma close up to her again.

''But there's no one who can help us. Neal told me that Gold just had a mental breakdown, because of what happened to Belle. He's not able to conjur magic now.''

The boy in the room had been quiet all the time his mom and grandmother where talking, but says now in a muted tone: ''then either you or Regina should do something.''

''What's that?'' asks Emma.

''You and mom are the only other people in Storybrooke who have magic, besides Mr Gold.''

''Henry, those are not options. First of all, I have no idea how to control my magic, and I definitely am not able to produce it whenever I want to. Secondly, we can't ask Regina.''

''Why not?'' The boy fumbles with his pajama while talking. ''I know that she's evil and all, but this is also something that concerns her. Also she has a big problem when they find out about us.''

''How much I hate to say it, but Henry is right Emma. Regina is our only option.'' Snow looks desperately at her daughter.

''But mom, you can't be serious about this? Not after what she has done to us. ''

''It's our only way. Unless you've another suggestion?'' She raises a brow to her daughter. When that is answered by silence, she continues: ''we should make a deal with her. We leave her alone when she helps us to shield the town from the outside world.''

''What about the Blue Fairy? She has magic,'' proposes the blonde.

''I doubt that she has enough power here to perform such a spell. Besides, Regina is the one who enacted the curse. I'm sure she knows a way.''

At that moment there is a knock on the door.

Henry is there first, closely followed by his mother and grandmother. ''Hey Neal!'' he says when he sees who's entering.

''Hey buddy.'' Neal's sincerely happy to see his son again, but is unsure about how to face Emma. ''Hi Emma, hi Snow,'' is the only thing he therefore says.

''Thanks for coming,'' answers Emma, feeling a little uncomfortable herself.

Snow observes the two, and she has to try hard to suppress a giggle. The situation is just too adorable. However, she feels the pressing need to protect her daughter at the same time. After everything that Emma went through because of him, she needs to know for sure that the man now standing in their living room has changed.

While Emma tries her best to ignore her mother's staring glance, she almost knows what the other woman is thinking. She really needs to tell Snow about what really happened eleven years ago. That's the next big thing she has to share with her mother. Something she doesn't particularly look forward to.

''So, what's the plan?'' asks Neal.

''Well, we just came to the conclusion that we don't have any choice but to ask Regina for help,'' answers Snow.

''Yeah, _you_ came to that conclusion,'' snaps the blonde.

''Emma, we've talked about this.''

''Yeah, we did, and still I don't like the idea.''

''Do you think _I _like it? Emma, that woman has destroyed more than one ever can imagine! She took away my _baby girl! _She poisoned me with an apple. You know about all the things she did here in Storybrooke. Do you think _I _like it?! It's hard on all of us. Not just on you. So don't you dare start acting like an indifferent teenager now!'' Suddenly Snow was not able to hold in the anger she felt, and her cheeks flushed with rage.

In the time that Snow was yelling at Emma, Henry had moved closer and closer to his father.

Neal was now holding the boy's shoulders and held his breath.

As quickly as she could, Emma ran out of the door.

''Emma, please wait. Emma, I'm sorry!'' The brunette tries to follow her daughter, but the door is being slammed almost right in her face.

''Snow, please allow me.'' Neal rests his hand soothingly on the brunette's arm.

She nods, as tears are running down her face. She has screwed up with her daughter. Big time. She doesn't understand how this could've happened. Her hand is on her mouth the entire time, as she's trying to hold back the sobs. Why did she do this? She knew what would happen.

''Stay with your grandmother, okay Henry? I'll be right back. With Emma,'' says Neal. He ruffles the boy's hair and exits the apartment.

* * *

''Em?'' Neal finds the blonde sitting on the ground of the beach. He uses the light on his cellphone to find his way.

The blonde doesn't look up when the man enters the beach. ''How did you find me?''

''I just had the feeling that you were here.'' He kneels down next to her, leaving a few meters between them. He takes a pebble in his hand and throws it into the ocean. He waits patiently, knowing that Emma will talk eventually. When she's ready.

The blonde sniffs and pulls up her knees to her chest. She's not wearing any jacket, and the cold midnight-air make it hard for her not to shiver.

Neal lets the sand run through his fingers.

''What did you tell Tamara?'' Her voice sounds like thunder breaking through the silence.

''I broke up with her.''

Emma turns her head to him. ''You did what? Why?''

''It just didn't work. It never worked, but I just didn't want to see it. I was so glad with the stable life I had with her, that I never really thought about if she was the one for me. If she was the one making me happy. She helped me to get my life back on track, and was there for me all the time. It felt just safe to be with her you know?''

Emma focusses on the waving ocean in front of them.

''But when you came to New York, and when we met again after all those years, something changed. It got me thinking, that I maybe wasn't as happy with her as I liked to believe.''

An uncomfortable silence arises once again.

''She was right.''

''Who was right?'' asks Neal.

''My mom. She was right about me being a pain. I should act more like an adult, especially with Henry around. I can't just endanger an entire town, because I happen to hate my son's adoptive mother.''

''No you can't. But I can imagine your anger towards her. She hurt every member of your family, and now you're supposed to ask her for help?''

''Yeah well, I just should get over it, right?''

Neal can't help but grin at that sweet face of the blonde.

''What are you laughing at?'' Emma sounds offended, but can't help to laugh a little.

''Nothing.''

''Yeah, sure,'' Emma's voice is dripping with sarcasm. She gives Neal a playful push in the back.

''You don't believe me?'' He grins and splashes some water towards the blonde.

''What the hell Cassidy?! The water is freezing!'' As a response, she scoops two handfuls of water from the ocean and throws that back at him. ''Here, now you can feel it too!'' As Neal rises up above her, she gets up as quick as she can and starts running towards the other end of the beach.

The man is much faster of course. It only takes him a few seconds to catch up with her.

The two land on the sandy ground with Neal on top. They look each other into the eyes, but don't say a word. It's another one of these magical moments that just the two of them share.

Only the sound of waves rolling up the beach can be heard. The leaves on the branches of the trees behind them rustle quietly in the ocean wind.

Emma is finally the one who breaks the silence. ''We probably should be heading back,'' she whispers, eyes still focused on the man on top of her.

With that, the enchanted moment between the two is broken, and they both get up.

While walking back to Emma and Snow's apartment building, they shake off the sand that sticks on their clothing.

''I think we should give it another chance.''

''What's that?'' asks Neal.

''You and I, I think we should give it another chance.''

* * *

**Thanks for reading! xoxo**


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